


RE: Danganronpa

by Razren



Series: RE: Danganronpa [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different Mastermind (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - Hope's Peak Academy (Dangan Ronpa), Dangan Ronpa Spoilers, F/F, F/M, Fan Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, POV Original Character, Pre-Despair (Dangan Ronpa)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:27:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 31,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23737567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Razren/pseuds/Razren
Summary: Hope's Peak Academy was supposed to be a fresh start for Fioren Maxwell. A way to get away from things and be able to push forward toward a better future. However, her day of orientation quickly takes a turn when she awakes within "Monokuma Land" a place run by a psychopath bear who claims the only way out is to kill someone! It's time for the Killing Game to begin...
Series: RE: Danganronpa [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1709866





	1. Prelude to Despair

**Author's Note:**

> This is a complete AU story set in my own world I have crafted of Danganronpa using nothing but OCs except for of course our favorite homicidal bear. I hope you all enjoy, and feel free to comment if you do so!

**LIST OF CHARACTERS**

Fioren Maxwell - Ultimate ??? (Main Character)  
Fioren is a 17 year old girl with shoulder length pink hair and red eyes. She is normally seen wearing a standard black business suit (no tie), a white undershirt and a formal black skirt with matching shoes.

Alison Wright - Ultimate Defense Attorney  
Alison is a 16 year old girl with short black hair tied into a ponytail and similarly colored eyes. She is typically wearing a very similar outfit to Fioren’s, though she also wears a black tie and leggings as well. She also wears glasses.

Abigail Rogers - Ultimate Stylist  
Abigail is a 17 year old girl with long dusty brown hair that goes down her entire back with brown eyes as well. She typically wears a white t-shirt and brown cargo shorts, and almost always carries scissors around with her everywhere she goes.

Emiko Maizono - Ultimate Actress  
Emiko is a 17-year old girl with long gorgeous green hair and equally colored eyes. She typically wears a frilly pink dress and has a red brooch on her right arm. Makeup always accompanies her face and her white heels clack wherever she walks.

Ayane Matsumoto- Ultimate Soccer Star  
Ayane is a short 15-year old girl with blond hair and red eyes. She normally wears a red t-shirt with her jersey number (13) on it accompanied by a set of white shorts. 

Hifumi Oda - Ultimate Poet  
Hifumi has short purple hair and purple eyes. She likes to wear a comfortable purple long sleeve shirt and a black skirt on top of black leggings and a set of similarly colored flat shoes. A downcast expression can be seen on her face rather frequently.

Yumi Toriyama - Ultimate Boxer  
Yumi has extremely short black hair and red eyes. A bandage runs across the bridge of her nose and she usually wears a black sleeveless t-shirt and similarly colored shorts. Several scars run down her legs and she wears a pair of black fingerless gloves constantly.

Hitomi Matsuda- Ultimate Diplomat  
Hitomi usually presents her white hair in a set of twin tails off to each side of her face, using scrunchies to keep it styled. Her black eyes almost sparkle as she talks and while she only wears a plain green sleeveless shirt and black slacks, she carries an air of refinement and elegance with her movements.

\-------------------------------------------------------------

Calvin Rosemary - Ultimate Lucky Student  
Calvin is a 16 year old boy with auburn colored hair and green eyes. He is usually slouched and wears a dusty brown jacket over a black t-shirt and some blue jeans. He usually looks disheveled, like he just got out of bed and never bothered to groom himself.

*Bradley Summers - Ultimate Lifeguard  
Bradley, or Brad as he prefers to be known, is a 18 year old man who fits the description of “dudebro”. Chiseled abs, tanned body, bleached blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. He’s typically seen without a shirt and wearing red shorts.

Daisuke Yoshikawa - Ultimate Doctor  
Daisuke is a 18-year old man with well groomed black hair and black eyes hidden behind a set of glasses. He tends to wear a white shirt (with pocket protector) and a striped white and blue tie on top of black jeans and dress shoes.

Tai Ishimaru- Ultimate Treasure Hunter  
Tai is a 15 year old boy with spiky red hair and yellow eyes. He wears a white shirt caked with holes and the like with a black jacket thrown on top. His jeans are almost always sagging and have a few holes in them too.

Hiroki Watanabe - Ultimate Information Broker  
Hiroki is a 17-year old boy with black hair and green eyes. He wears a nice long sleeve black dress shirt and has a necklace around his neck bearing a cross. His black jeans are usually rather rugged looking. 

Hiro Mishima - Ultimate Painter  
Hiro has short ruffled green hair and yellow eyes. An apron lays over his stained white shirt and blue jeans. His outfit is complete with the brown beret he wears slanted on his head and the paint brush he seems to almost materialize out of thin air whenever he wants.

Yoshi Amada - Ultimate Chemist  
Yoshi’s red hair is covered by his gray beanie hat that he never leaves his room without. Sleep-deprived blue eyes stare back at anyone who talks to him, and he usually wears a green bodysuit that he says is due to the chemicals he normally works with, but underneath he has nothing more than a basic white shirt and underwear.

Nobuhiro Ida- Ultimate Life Coach  
Ida is a man without a hint of lint or dirt on his tailored gray suit and pants. His blue hair is also slicked back with only a single spiky strand of hair standing upward. His black eyes always seem to have an air of judgement and superiority.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PROLOGUE: PRELUDE TO DESPAIR

I suppose some form of introduction should be in order. After all, if I plan to share my experiences with the world, it would do good for someone to know who wrote this account.  
  
My name is Fioren Maxwell. My past history isn’t what’s important here, but for the record I was to be a new student attending the prestigious Hope’s Peak Academy this coming year. I was...nervous to say the least, but that would slowly spiral into a gut wrenching agony of unease...and despair. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I should start from the beginning.   
  
It all started the day I was supposed to arrive. I had gone to bed early to try to calm my nerves, but if I had known just what the gods of fate had in store for me? I would have run away as far away and as fast as I could.. _  
_ _  
_ _Gah...what the hell happened? Why does my head feel so…._   
  
I drifted into consciousness with a splitting headache. It was like a mallet had been pounded against my skull over and over. As my eyes came into focus, I noticed a ceiling fan slowly making a rotation above my head. Wait...that wasn’t right. The other senses in my body began to register what felt like a bed underneath me. However, that just raised further confusion in my mind.   
  
“Wait...did I fall...asleep?” I didn’t recall laying down on my bed back home. Racing through my memories to the latest point just led to further unanswered questions.   
  
“I was...supposed to be attending Hope’s Peak Academy today...right?” I remembered it well. How surprised I was to even receive the letter of acceptance. That the prestigious school seeking out the hope of the next generation would even consider someone like me to attend was….that was besides the point. My first priority was figuring out just *where* I was.   
  
Surveying the room I was in showed a comfortable sort. A neatly tucked bed I was now laying in, a dresser to hold any clothing, a nightstand with a small lamp on it, and what I could only assume was a bathroom due to the location. “Am I in….someone’s room or something?”   
  
It was rhetorical of course. I didn’t honestly expect anyone to answer me. But as I asked that question, I noticed something I missed in my first scan of the room. Was that….a monitor? And a camera too. Was someone….watching me?   
  
“Listen...if you’re trying to mess with me...you have another thing coming, ya hear? I’m not some punk kid who can’t defend themselves!” I shouted at the camera, though it was a futile effort. No reaction spurred forth to answer any of the questions I had. It looked like I was on my own.   
  
Steeling myself, I slowly rose from the bed. Whoever kidnapped me clearly didn’t mess with my clothing as I still had on the suit I had intended to arrive at orientation in.Though even that thought didn’t really set my mind at ease. Who had kidnapped me, and why? This was *NOT* how I expected to be starting my year at school.   
  
I made my way over to the door of this room and turned the knob. To my surprise, the door was actually unlocked. “So...you don’t intend to keep me in here...at least.” _Just how big is this prison?_   
  
I stepped out into the hallway and saw numerous other rooms down both sides of the hallway. Upon quick inspection there were 16 rooms in total including my own. _16 rooms. Does that mean...there are 15 other people here?_   
  
As if the gods above were listening to my rambling, the door to another of the rooms began to open. In quick order, a young man with auburn colored hair and green eyes stepped out. He honestly looked like our kidnapper had messed him up with how disheveled and dirty he looked.   
  
Before I could open my mouth to speak, he saw me. “Whoa! Someone else is here!” His voice was startled, but I tried to keep my composure for both our sakes.   
  
“Hey. Take it easy...I’m not an enemy. Are you trapped here too?” I tried my best to keep a disarming tone but even I could feel the dread beginning to kick in.   
  
“Huh? Oh uh….yeah. I think. I’m not sure. I woke up like….5 minutes ago and just decided to come out to see what was going on. Honestly was surprised when the door opened to tell the truth…” He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. At least he didn’t seem like a bad guy.   
  
“I see…” I imagined everyone was going through something similar. We all woke up in these rooms. But I did need to confirm something. “Hey...what’s your name?”   
  
“Me? Oh, I’m Calvin. Calvin Rosemary. I’d say it’s nice to meet you but uh….yeah.”   
  
“Likewise. I’m Fioren Maxwell. Now, if you’ll humor me for a second...what’s the last thing you remember before waking up?”   
  
He seemed to be racking his head thinking. “Oh...well I had gone to bed the day before orientation. I was supposed to be attending Hope’s Peak Academy. Funny...they brought me on by chance and look how it turned out…” He sighed dejectedly to himself.   
  
“Seems we’re in the same boat. And I would wager a guess all of the other people here are too.”   
  
“Wait...what do you mean other people?! Are we not the only ones here?” He seemed upset at the thought, and to be honest I couldn’t blame him. The fact I was still keeping my composure right now was a miracle in itself.   
  
“Well...there are 16 rooms here, and we came out of two of them. It seems they have some sort of nameplates on them to distinguish whose room is whose. So..that means there has to be 16 people.” 16 people. All trapped in….who knows where. And all under the watchful eye of some twisted freak who plans to do lord knows what with us.   
  
“Jeez...what the hell do they want with me? I’m just some random kid who got picked by a lottery! I wasn’t supposed to be part of this! I need to get out back to my family!” He looked like he was about to run and I grabbed him by the arm.   
  
“Easy there. We can’t be freaking out right now. Logic and reasoning will be our best friend here.” My tone was soft, like a mother comforting a child. However…   
  
“Logic? Reasoning? How the fuck are you not freaking out right now!?”   
  
“Trust me! Keeping myself this calm *isn’t* easy, but if we freak out, we let whatever sick fuck trapped us here win. Alright? Just...take a deep breath.”   
  
Calvin took a sharp breath and sighed. “You’re right….you’re right. Sorry. In any case….what should we do? Should we try to wake everyone else up?”   
  
Before I could respond, an almost ominous school bell-like noise resounded through the hallway as the monitor began to spring to life. We didn’t see anything on screen, but the voice that came through was enough to send shivers down my spine.   
  
“Attention all students! This is your headmaster speaking. I would like everyone to report downstairs to the lobby immediately for orientation! I repeat, I would love eeeeveryone to report downstairs to the lobby immediately!” The monitor turned off as the message finished. That voice….it was filled with a childlike glee, yet hid sinister and malicious intent underneath.   
  
“I guess that answers your question.” The emotion in my voice had drained. I could feel the dry croaking of nervousness starting to well up in the back of my throat. But...I continued to push it down. I couldn’t afford to freak out. I couldn’t.   
  
There wasn’t much said between the two of us as we proceeded down the hallway. At the end, there appeared to be an elevator. The number above the door indicated we were on the second floor. _The lobby must be on the first floor then…._   
  
Without another word, we both stepped inside and clicked the button for the first floor. The descent couldn’t have lasted more than 5 or so seconds, but the tension and fear I felt made it feel like minutes.   
  
Once the doors opened, we were greeted with a sight not too unexpected. The room resembled that of a hotel lobby. To our immediate left was a dining area and lounge room, complete with a TV. As for the right hand side, there existed an open doorway to a kitchen area and a reception desk that had a small computer and what I assumed was a sign-in sheet. _Is this really some kind of hotel?_   
  
I didn’t linger on that thought for long though as it was quickly apparent that several others had found their way into the lobby as per the announcement. A quick count would show Calvin and to be the 15th and 16th person. Of the people gathered, the one to speak first to us was a girl around my height with a sharp gaze behind her glasses as she adjusted them slightly.   
  
“So...it was 16 in total.” Her words rung with the thoughts I already had. However, we would have no time for introductions and the like as right as I began to open my mouth a sharp voice interrupted me.   
  
“Good! Looks like everyone has arrived, and with record timing too! I guess if you want to get this show on the road then I won’t keep you waiting any longer!”   
  
I tried my best to find the source of the sound, but it was as if the walls themselves vibrated with the resounding drums. In quick order, our attention was drawn to the reception desk as *something* shot out from behind it.   
  
The sight that stood before me was….baffling to say the least. It was a...teddy bear. Almost like a stuffed one you’d buy for a child, except its colors were split down the middle between white and black. The most disturbing feature however was the jagged red eye that ran along the left side of its face.   
  
“What the….heck?” I had no words to describe how I felt. Of all the things that had happened today, this was the most absurd.   
  
It seemed one of my “classmates” agreed. A man with slicked back blue hair and black eyes stood to the front and almost shouted. “You there! Whatever you are I don’t care. You are to release us from this place at once!”   
  
“Hm?” The bear spoke with a quizzical look on its face. “Whadda mean?”   
  
“Y-you...You know what I mean!” The boy still stood defiantly. “This is an outrage. A disservice to the highest degree! You think you can force us here and then come out like...like this?! Reveal your true face at once!”   
  
I was floored. This guy…..what kind of balls did he have to just stare...whatever that thing was in the face?   
  
“Wow….this is unexpected. You got a go-getter attitude! I like that, you all should follow his example of how to lead your lives!” The smug mockiness that oozed from the bear was unheard of.   
  
The well dressed boy seemed to finally realize whoever was behind that bear had no intention of coming out, so he simply stood there furiously. I’m sure a lot of us felt similar. Once it seemed there would be no further interruptions, our “host” continued.   
  
“Now that I have all your attention, allow me to introduce myself. I am the great Monokuma! And welcome to Monokuma Land! The place of dreams and nightmares. Of love and loss. Of hope...and despair! Puhuhuhuhuhuhu!”   
  
A white haired girl with twintails spoke up next. “Monokuma Land? That sounds like some...like lame amusement park.”   
  
“Of course that’s what it sounds like! Cause that’s exactly what it is! Monokuma Land is the newest and latest creation for the most exciting vacation of your entire lives!” He said this so eagerly and happily like it was the greatest thing to ever happen to us.   
  
A short red haired kid was the next to speak as he looked annoyed. “Vacation? Awh man...I thought I was gonna be part of some evil conspiracy or something….”   
  
I was so taken aback I could barely speak. “Wait...you were excited about this?!”   
  
The glasses wearing girl from before interrupted with a cough, clearly ignoring the kid’s comment. “Excuse me...Monokuma was it? I hope you know whatever game you’re playing here is illegal on so many different accounts I don’t even know where to start. I assure you that we’re not going to take part in some childish fantasy of...whatever this “Monokuma Land” is.”   
  
“Huh?” The bear was completely caught off guard. As if he hadn’t even considered the morality of his actions. Of course….I could tell. That was a bold faced lie…   
  
“That implies we can get out at all…” I felt the words escape through my lips before I could really process them. Monokuma seemed amused as he began to laugh.   
  
“Puhuhuhuhu! It seems Fioren here is definitely on the right track!” He turned to the girl who spoke and seemed to almost glare at her with a malice that stretched far beyond the depths of even the netherworld. “My dear…..childish fantasy? Do you even realize what’s going on here? You’re all trapped here. This is where you will be spending the rest of your days, never to see the outside world again.”   
  
_………..what did he just say?! Did he really just…._ _  
_ _  
_ It seemed I wasn’t the only one to share the sentiment as a red haired boy in a beanie was the next to shout out. “Da hell you mean for the rest of our lives? Is this some kind of prank?”   
  
“Indeed,” chimed in a green haired girl that looked almost like a mannequin with how skinny and shiny her skin was. “I’ll have you know that if I don’t report to my agent by the end of today the entire country will be looking for you!”   
  
The bear took all this verbal anger and didn’t seem to react or care much at all. However the next message to break through the crowd caught me off guard. A purple haired girl started speaking with a very forlorn and blank expression etched across her face. “You said *headmaster* before. What did you mean by that?”   
  
“Oh? Well of course I was talking about Hope’s Peak! I’m the headmaster of Hope’s Peak Academy, and I decided for my fresh new students a change of scenery would do them good! After all, vacations are healthy for the soul, right?”   
  
“Vacation? More like kidnapping..” Calvin muttered to himself.   
  
The girl with glasses still stood defiantly. “I highly doubt that you’re really the headmaster. And I highly doubt this is some school approved thing. Now, I suggest you-”   
  
“I what?” Monokuma cut off immediately. “Are you really so insistent on trying to return to the regular world? But this park has everything you could ever want. Free food and drinks for life, free medical, amazing rides and attractions...what more could you want?!”   
  
“I think we all want to go home…” I said, though I didn’t expect to get my wishes. This bear seemed insistent on keeping us here. But for what exactly? If it was for ransom I can’t imagine someone like me would fetch a high price. And I’m sure several others feel the same way.   
  
“If you’re so insistent on getting out, then fine. I’ll let you go. On one enie tiny condition.” I don’t think a single one of us spoke. We all eagerly waited with anticipation with whatever this...thing would ask us to do.   
  
“All you need to do…...is kill someone.” His gaze was on each and everyone in that room, his jagged red eye almost glowing with glee as he uttered those words. I felt my words catch in my throat as the thought came over me. The idea to….kill someone?   
  
Everyone freaked out to about the same effect but Monokuma quickly shushed us down. “Now now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves! I haven’t even explained the rules of your amazing Killing Vacation! Everyone please step up and retrieve one of my very own patented Monopads!” He would slam his hand against the reception desk and almost like in a cartoon several tablets would appear next to him. They were all sleek and black in color, though a cartoon bear face that resembled monokuma was along the back.   
  
The blue haired boy spoke once again, his face looking to be a mixture of concern and anger. “Kill someone? You really expect us to play along with...whatever the fuck this is!? You’re crazy!”   
  
Monokuma would only laugh his signature laugh once more. “Puhuhu. You really think you have a choice? If you don’t want to participate then I’ll simply execute you and find someone else who will.”   
  
_Execute?!_ He...can’t be serious, can he? It seemed though everyone froze at those words. Whether he was telling the truth or not, the air of defiance had been sucked out of the room immediately. We all stepped forward and retrieved our monopads.   
  
Booting mine up revealed a welcome screen which read “Welcome Fioren Maxwell.” After it loaded up I had options for a map, a list of all the students, school rules and…..evidence. Seeing that just made my blood run cold, but I ignored it for now. I opened the tab for the school rules as the bear began to explain them.   
  
**RULE 1: With limited restrictions, the students may explore Monokuma Land at their convenience.**

**RULE 2: Violence against the Headmaster is strictly prohibited. As is damage to all school property such as cameras, monitors, e-Handbooks etc.**

**RULE 3: Night Time starts at strictly 10:00 PM. It is forbidden to enter certain areas during Night Time and the water in the hotel will be shut off. Night Time ends at 7 AM**

**RULE 4: Falling asleep anywhere besides in the hotel will be considered sleeping in class and will not be tolerated.**

**RULE 5: No student may lend out their e-Handbook to another student**

**RULE 6: Students must never be late for appointments with the Headmaster including assemblies and class trials.**

**RULE 7: A student’s vacation will end if they kill another student, unless they are found out.**

**RULE 8: Further rules may be added at the Headmaster’s convenience.**

**The breaking of any rules will result in immediate expulsion from Hope’s Peak Academy.**

  
I read over the rules again and again. It was….real. It was really real. He expected us to really…   
  
“Now you see, don’t you?” Monokuma spoke up as he revealed claws from his hand, almost as if he was primed to attack. “You should just forget about the outside world. Monokuma Land *is* your world now! Pahahahahahahaha!”   
  
What the hell was going on? I just….I couldn’t understand it. Who the hell was Monokuma and why had he kidnapped us? Why were we being forced to participate in this...sick game of his? Did he really expect us to just….stay here? No, it seemed like the opposite in fact.   
  
The more I stared at those rules, the more obvious **truth** seemed to reveal itself. This game...no, this **killing** game was to become our life. Our twisted view of the world that would wrap itself around our very souls. As those thoughts began to wash over me, the knot in my stomach would tighten harder as I begun to truly realize the sick and demented mind of our tormentor.   
  
This wasn’t just some psychopath who had kidnapped up for ransom or to gain something. No...this was someone who wanted us to feel one thing and one thing alone.   
  
  
Despair……   
  
  
**PROLOGUE** **  
****END** **  
****  
****  
****16 Students Remain**


	2. Magical World of Nightmares Daily Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Killing Game started, all Fioren and the others can do is explore around the park, and slowly begin growing closer as well. Will their bonds continue to last when pushed to this limit?

**CHAPTER 1: MAGICAL WORLD OF NIGHTMARES  
** **DAILY LIFE  
** **  
** **  
** The silence that permeated the air could be cut with a knife. No one knew how to respond. How *should* you respond to something like this? It’s just so bizarre and so out of the realm of normality that I couldn’t even bring my brain to think. There was one person who seemed to break the silence. A boy with dark black hair and glasses seemed to regain composure enough to ask a question I’m sure was on everyone else’s mind.   
  
“Umm, Monokuma. What exactly do you mean in these rules when you mention a  **class trial** ?”   
  
Monokuma almost seemed to jump at the opportunity to explain. “Oh, well allow me to tell you! You see, if it was as simple as you just murdering each other it wouldn’t be fun. After all, what’s a good murder if there isn’t a mystery, right? That’s why once three or more people have discovered a dead body, an investigation will start.   
  
It will be up to you all to investigate the crime scene and try to discover who dunnit in the wonderous and hotly anticipated class trial!” Our monopads actually lit up and showed an animation of chess pieces surrounding each other in a circle with a black and white monokuma chess piece presiding over it.   
  
“In a class trial, the  **Spotless** students, that’s the ones who didn’t commit the crime, will face off against the  **Blackened** student, otherwise known as the murderer, as they attempt to discover the truth of the case. Once deliberation is over, you will all vote on who you think is the blackened. If you guess correctly…..then the blackened will be executed! And you all will be able to continue living here peacefully in the amusement park.    
  
If you guess wrong however...then the Spotless students will be executed instead! And the Blackened will be allowed to leave Monokuma Land a changed and proud new member of society.”   
  
Once again a silence. Though this time it was interrupted by a young looking girl with blond hair wearing a soccer jersey. “Y-you can’t be serious?! You’re really gonna kill us? B-but I did nothing wrong. Why am I here? What do you want from me?!” It broke my heart to see how close to tears she seemed to be. I couldn’t do anything though except refuse to meet her eyes.   
  
“Oh? You did nothing wrong did you? I’m sorry but from where I’m standing your entire  **existence** is the issue! But enough of that. I explained everything so feel free to explore to your heart’s content. Oh and I wanna see some interesting murders all right? Cause the only good murderer is the one with the most creative and unique crimes, and if you’re Ultimates I’m sure you can come up with some pretty fun cases!” He let out one last maniacal laugh before disappearing, leaving us to ourselves.   
  
I must have stood there for a while lost in my thoughts, as before I knew it, only Calvin and I remained in the lobby. He tentatively reached out a hand to my shoulder and sort of shook me back and forth.   
  
“Hey uh, you good there. Fioren?”   
  
I woke up from my mental haze and sighed with a frown. “Sorry. Guess I lost myself for a bit. Where’d everyone else go?”   
  
“Oh, they went to explore the place. Apparently the front door here opens. I haven’t seen anything outside yet though. Wanted to make sure you were ok and all.” He gave a reassuring smile and a thumbs up. It did make me feel at least a little better.   
  
“Thanks. But you didn’t have to. Guess we should join them then, huh?” I was also curious as to who was exactly here. I opened up the monopad again and scrolled to the list of students. Monokuma was at least telling the truth about one thing. Everyone here was indeed an “Ultimate”.   
  
Scrolling through the list I familiarized myself with faces, names, and the talents of each individual. I paused for a moment though when I came to mine.   
  
**Name: Fioren Maxwell** **  
** **Age: 17** **  
** **Talent: Ultimate ???** **  
** **  
** “Huh?” I must have voiced my confusion out loud because Calvin turned to me asking what was wrong. “I don’t have a talent listed here,” I said with a bit of a shaky tone. Was it really possible? Did Monokuma *not* know my talent?   
  
“That’s weird. It’s got everyone else’s right? Maybe yours is just busted. Let me check mine.” He quickly scrolled through his own pad to get to my name. “Huh?! What the heck?” His outburst answered my question.   
  
“So it has nothing down for my talent…” My thoughts lingered to why. How was it Monokuma kidnapped me without knowing what my talent was? He had to have done research into us before he captured us. He knew we were new students even though we hadn’t even begun officially attending yet after all.   
  
“That’s weird. What is your talent anyway?” Calvin asked an innocent enough question, but I still froze. That subject was difficult to say the least. But if I didn’t respond with anything then he’d probably distrust me.   
  
“I...don’t remember.” I looked away so I wouldn’t meet his gaze.   
  
“You don’t remember? Did he wipe your memory of that too?” He seemed very concerned for me at this point. I appreciated the gesture more than he’d ever know.   
  
“I guess so. Sorry. I can’t really tell you anything. I know I had a talent. I mean, I was going to be attending Hope’s Peak. Of course I did.”   
  
He seemed to rack his brain for a bit but just scratched at his hair and sighed. “I mean, I guess. I can’t really help. I don’t have a talent. I was just selected by chance.”   
  
I blinked in surprise. “No talent. Picked by chance? That means that you’re…” Even though I had seen his talent it didn’t really register until now.   
  
“Yup. I’m the Ultimate Lucky Student. Normally Hope’s Peak scouts out everyone to attend the school personally. But, every year they hold a lottery and whoever wins gets to attend the school as the Lucky Student. Course, right now I feel more like the Ultimate Unlucky Student.”   
  
“I guess you’re right.” I wanted to try to cheer him up, but those were the only words to grace my lips.    
  
“Ah, well. That’s not important right now. We should acquaint ourselves with everyone else, yeah? Come on, let’s go.” He held a thumbs up and marched toward the door.   
  
I guess he was right. I couldn’t just stand around being mopey. Making my way alongside him, we opened the door to the outside. After adjusting to the light, the sight laid before us was quite impressive. A massive castle-like structure stood in the middle of a small lake, with nothing but a single drawbridge connecting it to the area we were in. Looking to my left and right I saw a circular walkway that presumably marched the whole length of the castle. A wall surrounded the entire enclosure with massive steel gates that appeared to be closed.   
  
“Whoa, this place is huge!” Calvin took in the sight before us and actually chuckled a bit. “Jeez, it really does feel like an amusement park, huh?”   
  
“Yeah, and that’s exactly why I hate it.” We both turned as a new voice chimed in. A girl with short black hair and red eyes stood to face us. She had a pair of fingerless gloves on and a bandage was lazily applied across the bridge of her nose. “Amusement parks are so annoying.”   
  
“Not a fan, huh?” I tried to make a light joke, but she just seemed to end up more annoyed. “Uh, in any case. My name is Fioren. And you are?”   
  
She sighed a bit and tried to put on the friendliest demeanour she could muster. “Yumi Toriyama. Ultimate Boxer. Pleasure, I guess.”   
  
“I see. Ultimate Boxer, huh? Must have a pretty impressive track record then.”    
  
“Yeah sure I guess. Look, no offense. But I don’t really feel like being all chatty right now. I’ll be in my room.” She immediately brushed past us and into the hotel.  _ Jeez, not the friendly type, are you? _   
  
“Well, that happened.” Calvin seemed to take it in stride however. “Oh well. Let’s just keep going. Looks like that castle is the only place we can really explore right now.” The two of us continued on our way toward the drawbridge. Before we even arrived however, we saw a commotion seem to be forming around one of the gates that lined the outer wall.   
  
A girl with dusty brown hair was having a very heated conversation with a young man sporting green hair and wearing a painter’s smock. She was pointing at him as she seemed to seethe with anger. “Why the *hell* are you taking this so casually?! Are you mentally fucked up or something?”   
  
The boy didn’t seem too fazed by her and shook his head. “Of course not. But, honestly shouting around and wasting energy. Is that really what we should be doing?”   
  
I quickly ran over, hoping to put a stop to a possible conflict before it got out of hand. “Hey! Let’s settle down all right? What’s going on?”   
  
The girl turned to me with a huff, annoyance and anger clearly visible in her caramel eyes. “Settle down? You want me to SETTLE DOWN?! I’ll settle down when we’re out of this goddamn place! Kill someone to get out? Trapped here forever? You all are taking this so casually! At this point, I feel like I’m the only normal one here.”   
  
I couldn’t blame her here, but that’s exactly why I couldn’t lose my composure. “Yeah, and a fat lot of good freaking out and making a scene will do, won’t it? Don’t you think that’s exactly what that bear wants? People freaking out and getting desperate will be exactly the reason problems start.”   
  
She didn’t seem to take my reasoning well. “Oh and aren’t you a little miss calm and composed. Ya know, I heard the type of people that can stay calm in a situation like this are crazy people! The fact none of you seem to even care we’re trapped in here is concerning to say the least.”   
  
“Believe me. I *am* scared! But I also know that in situations like these, it’s the calm and cool people that need to keep everything together. And damn it, if one person is gonna keep everyone from actually killing each other, I can at least try!” I stared her down as hard as I could hoping to force her to back off.   
  
Calvin actually seemed taken aback. “Fioren…”   
  
The girl seemed surprised to hear my name. “Fioren? You’re the one in the handbook without a talent. You really expect me to just trust you when I have no idea who you even are?”   
  
“I believe *none* of us know who each other are. What makes me so special? And who are you then if you’re going to be like that about it?” I could understand her distrust, but it didn’t make me feel any better about the situation.   
  
“I’m Abigail Rogers. The Ultimate Stylist. And you’re right, we don’t know who the others are, but at least we know what kind of talents they have. For all I know you could be the  **Ultimate Killer** or something.”   
  
The green haired boy finally spoke up again in between our fight. “Umm, I highly doubt Hope’s Peak would let the Ultimate Killer within its halls. I’m sure whatever she may be good at, it’s fine.” He turned to me and smiled. “I should introduce myself. Hiro Mishima. I am graced to be given the talent of Ultimate Painter. I hope we get along very well.”   
  
At this point Abigail seemed to give up on her argument and simply left. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief knowing I wouldn’t have to argue anymore. “Thanks Hiro. I’m glad at least someone is willing to listen to reason.”   
  
He laughed a bit at my comment. “Oh, I’m sure Abigail will be fine soon enough. She just needs some time to process. Honestly, I am still a little nervous about everything, but no one has given me any reason to think of them as fiends or the like, so I’m perfectly fine.”   
  
“I see…”  _ At least someone seems to be in good spirits.  _ “So, what caused that fight anyway?”   
  
He pulled out a paint brush and pointed it at the gate. “Oh, Abigail was interested in finding a way through this gate, but I told her to not worry about such matters. After all, I doubt this “Monokuma” who has trapped us would make it so easy to escape.”   
  
“Makes sense to me at least. I mean, I can understand her but Fioren’s right. We can’t just be freaking out.” Calvin sighed a bit as he rubbed the back of his head.   
  
“Yeah. In any case, we need to get back to exploring around, so good luck to you Hiro.” I waved Hiro goodbye as we headed off. I still lingered to Abigail’s outbursts. I couldn’t blame her for freaking out like she did. Still, I couldn’t let it get to me either. I had to stay strong. Someone had to…   
  
Eventually, we arrived at the drawbridge proper. It was quite a majestic view. The castle walls were grand and took up almost our entire field of vision. The drawbridge itself seemed solid, and the chains holding it were firm and sturdy. Approaching the edge, I hoped to be able to see how much of a drop it was. However, before I could get far, I was stopped by a new voice.   
  
“Whoa there girly. Don’t wanna fall over the edge. I’m pretty sure there’s piranha in there.”   
  
I stopped and turned to the voice. Standing before was a boy with blond hair and blue eyes not even wearing a shirt. He had a bit of a serious look on his face. “Trust me. I went down there and ended up getting multiple bite marks.” He pointed to his leg where indeed there were several bite marks along them.   
  
“Man, that bear really wants to kill us, huh?” Calvin quietly commented to himself.   
  
“I’d imagine he put them there more for killers to try to hide their evidence.” I pointed out while still looking down. Monokuma definitely seemed to have done his homework. The castle was obviously where he expected the “action” to take place.   
  
“Yeah, I thought so too. Oh, the name’s Brad by the way. I’m the Ultimate Lifeguard. Swell meeting you dudes.” He had a big goofy grin on his face, completely ignoring the morbid warning he had just given us.   
  
“Fioren and Calvin. Pleasure.” I decided to be as courteous as I could, choosing to ignore the moat for now. “In any case. How big is that castle? You had a look yet?”   
  
“Nah. I was checking out the moat. Bout to head back so I can get some bandages on my leg. Bleeding a little bit.” He chuckled a bit. “Everyone else is in there though, so I’m sure they found something. Give it a day or two and I’m sure people will find us just fine!” With that, he made his way back to the hotel.   
  
“Chipper guy.” My partner seemed to be unimpressed with his attitude. However, we continued onward. Even though others were exploring, I wanted to at least introduce myself to everyone before I figured out what I should do.

  
We made our way into the castle proper. Immediately we were presented with two different directions we could go. The main door lay right in front of us, but there was also a door connected to a tower that seemed to connect back to the main castle. I decided it would be best to simply go through the front door however, leading me into the audience chamber.   
  
The chamber itself was exactly what one would expect. Two thrones sat idly at the end, both vacant. There seemed to be a small balcony that overlooked the area, and two hallways stretched off to the left and right. Aside from that, there wasn’t much else in this room except two individuals standing in the middle of it.   
  
One was the blue haired man that had stood so defiantly against Monokuma and the other was the glasses wearing girl who had done much the same. They immediately noticed us enter and the girl seemed to be sizing me up.   
  
“Come to explore the castle?” She asked this question almost as if she was a cop conducting an interrogation.   
  
“Yes. I assume you both already did the same?” I tried my best to not let her tone get to me, but it was certainly unexpected.   
  
This time the blue hair boy responded, still with as loud of a voice as before. “Indeed! However we have found no means of escape as of yet. It seems this vile Monokuma has indeed trapped us in. But, fear not! We will find a way out, I swear on my name of Nobuhiro Ida!”   
  
Nobuhiro Ida? I remembered his name from the handbook. “You’re the Ultimate Life Coach then. I saw your name in the list.”   
  
“That is correct. It is my duty to guide lost souls back onto the correct path, and for that reason so long as I am here, none shall perish from this place!” He pointed at me with a triumphant shout. He was trying to make me feel better, but honestly I felt more intimidated than anything else.   
  
“Right...well, in any case.” I turned to the other girl. “I’m Fioren Maxwell. What’s your name?”   
  
“Alison Wright. Ultimate Defense Attorney.” She said rather curtly. “If you will excuse me with a personal question Ms Maxwell. What exactly is your Ultimate Talent?”   
  
I froze for a moment. Of course she’d ask me that question immediately. Fortunately, Calvin quickly came to our defense. “Easy there. She doesn’t remember. Monokuma’s probably just removed her talent on purpose to make us distrust her. She’s good though.”   
  
“You don’t remember?” She asked with genuine surprise.   
  
“Yes. That’s correct. I don’t remember my talent at all. Sorry if that made you suspicious of me…” I clung my left hand to my other arm and cast my gaze downward, not wanting to look her in the eyes.   
  
Her tone quickly shifted to an apologetic one. “No, I should be the one apologizing. Forgive me. You poor dear…” She actually walked up to me and placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “Well, don’t worry. I don’t make the same mistakes twice. I’ll make sure no one thinks you’re a criminal just because you can’t remember your talent.”   
  
“Thank you, but you don’t really have to help.”   
  
“No, I insist. If Monokuma wiped your memory as a tool to turn us against each other, this is a serious problem. Don’t worry. I’ll have your back. So, keep your chin up.” She must have been smiling as she talked very softly to me.   
  
I rose to meet her face and tried to smile back. “Okay,” was all I said to that. I quickly wanted to move on from there, choosing to take the left hallway first. Within this hallway were two rooms, and a curved corner that headed further down another corridor.   
  
We decided to move to the room on our left first. Upon entering, it appeared to be a grand ballroom complete with a massive chandelier and a giant window which allowed us to see much of the area we came from, including the hotel. I approached the window, admiring the view despite the circumstances. “He really went all out on this place, huh?”   
  
Calvin seemed to nod in agreement. “Hell yeah. This goes beyond just some silly thing. The amount of effort this would have taken…” He sighed. “..this Monokuma is not someone I wanna mess with.”   
  
Before I could respond, another voice chimed in. “Monokuma’s soul reeks a dark essence that clouds even the bright sun in the sky.” Upon turning I saw that purple haired girl from earlier having approached us. “Good day. I don’t believe we’ve met. I am Hifumi Oda, the Ultimate Poet.”   
  
“Poet, eh?” Calvin said with a smile. “Nice to meet ya. I’m Calvin, and this is Fioren. We’re just exploring the place.”   
  
She took us in and didn’t seem to have much of a reaction. “We can explore, but we are like birds trapped in a cage. Doomed to seek the freedom that lies just beyond our reach.”   
  
I didn’t really have much of a response to that. I knew she said she was a poet, but I wasn’t expecting her to try to make every sentence she spoke sound that way too. “Right...well, we should get going. There’s still more places to explore.”   
  
“Very well. Good luck to you both. Until the chimes of fate ring our bells together once more..” With those final words, we left the room and made our way to the next. I was hoping the next person we met wasn’t going to be quite as...out there.   
  
The next room we entered was a drawing room. It had a set of two couches facing each other, as well as a fireplace and TV. A table lay in the middle of the room, and multiple shelves lined with what looked like movies and books were against the wall. Two more individuals also awaited us here. The two youngest looking members of our group: the girl wearing the soccer jersey, and the red haired boy who had expressed disappointment in the reason we were here.   
  
The girl was the one to speak when we arrived. “More people! Have you found a way out yet?!” She had a very hopeful expression on her face. It caused my heart to sink slightly.   
  
“No, sorry.” I said rather coldly. She immediately shifted her gaze down and looked a lot like a kid whose pet had just died. I wished I could have told her something else. The boy laughed.   
  
“See? I told you there was no way out. We’re trapped in this amusement park forever!” He said the last part almost like he was telling a scary story.   
  
“S-stop it Tai! Knock it off.” She looked like she wanted to run away. I couldn’t blame her. This kid gave me an unsettling feeling.   
  
_ She said his name was Tai though, so that means…  _ “Tai Ishimaru, the Ultimate Treasure Hunter I presume.” I stated my question to him rather fiercely. I didn’t want to give him a chance to mess with me.   
  
“Huh? Geez, you’re scary looking.” Tai’s smile turned to a frown and he backpedalled toward a wall. “Yeah. I was just messing with her, ya know? No need to get that mad at me…”   
  
Calvin sighed. “What the hell is your problem kid? Now is not the time to be messing with people.”   
  
Tai pouted and turned away. “Whatever. I was just having a little fun. If we’re trapped here might as well keep things interesting…”  _ Well...that’s a dangerous thought process. _ _   
_ _   
_ The girl turned to him with a glare. “Well go do that to someone else! I don’t need you messing with me right now!”   
  
‘Fine. Fine, I’ll leave. Have fun being all alone Ayane.” He put his hands behind his head and walked off. As the door closed, the girl called Ayane sighed and sat down on a couch.   
  
“I wanna go home…” Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes and it made me feel terrible. I wanted to do something. Anything to make this young girl feel better, but I couldn’t. Ironically, Calvin was the one to walk over and pat her on the head with a smile.   
  
“Hey now, let’s not cry, alright? What’s your name?”   
  
She looked up at him, trying to talk normally through the tears. “A-ayane Matsumoto,,,”   
  
Recognizing that name as well, I spoke. “Ayane Matsumoto? Oh, so you’re the Ultimate Soccer Star then.” I had already assumed her talent based on her clothing but this confirmed it. I heard her name on the news before quite a bit. She was the youngest ever soccer player to be scouted for an international league. She was set to start as soon as she graduated from high school. For a kid that young to be here just made me have to turn away from her teary eyes.   
  
“Yeah...that’s me.” She sniffled a bit. “I was just supposed to go to Hope’s Peak. I didn’t do anything wrong. Why did Monokuma kidnap me? Am I a bad person or something?”   
  
I heard a sigh from my friend as he rubbed her hair. “Nah, you did nothing wrong. Monokuma is just a bad guy, that’s all. Don’t you worry. We’ll get outta here, alright? Just leave it to us older kids.” His smile was infectious. Even she seemed to regain some composure.   
  
“Okay. Please hurry…”   
  
Calvin gave her a thumbs up. “We’ll be out before you even know it. OK?”   
  
I couldn’t help but smile. Once we were assured she was alright and left, I turned to Calvin. “You’re pretty good with kids, I take it?”   
  
“Huh? Oh, umm. Well yeah, I guess. She just reminded me a lot of my little sister back home, so I guess I just kinda acted without thinking.” Redness dotted his cheeks as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.   
  
A laugh escaped my mouth. “Oh, I see. A dotting older brother then? Cute.” He glared at me a bit, but I didn’t let it get to me. He really did seem like a nice guy. I was glad he was the first person I ran into in this place. With some happy thoughts in mind for once, we made our way further down the hallway. Eventually we hit 2 last doors before the hallway ended. We decided to hit the left door first.   
  
After opening it, we found ourselves within that tower we had seen before, including the door that led back outside. A spiral staircase led up the tower and seemed to go on for quite a bit before reaching an upper landing. “That tower is at least three stories.” I quietly muttered to myself.   
  
“Yeah, I wouldn’t wanna fall down this staircase. That’d hurt like a truck.” Calvin tried the door to the outside and found it perfectly working. After shutting it he turned to me. “Wanna go up and check it out?”   
  
“If we’re gonna be stuck in this place, we have to. We need to see every area we have access to.”   
  
He sighed. “I was afraid you’d say that. I’m uhh, gonna stay down here. I don’t trust myself with these stairs. And I’ll uhh...I’ll catch you if you fall! Yeah, that sounds good.” That was the worst lie I had ever heard. However, I decided to go up anyway, leaving Calvin behind.   
  
Upon reaching the upper landing, I found a small room with a window that seemed to look out over the whole park area we were in. I could even see past the gates to several other areas I could barely make out: a grand mansion, some futuristic looking building, and even a large jungle looking area. However, no matter how hard I looked…   
  
“I don’t see a way out.” I noted this to myself. At the edge of what I assumed to be the park was a mountain range that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. This park was perfectly nestled in the middle of a valley. Even if we somehow managed to escape, it was clear that getting home, wherever home *was* relative to our location, would be next to impossible.   
  
A sense of dread began to creep into my mind, but I quickly pushed it aside to go back down to my partner. As I approached the bottom, he looked up at me. “Find anything up there?”   
  
“No,” I called back to him. I decided not to tell him about the mountains. I assumed it would just cause him to feel worse. Right now we couldn’t afford to feel that despair Monokuma wanted us to feel so badly. We would make it work, somehow. I just knew it. We just had to work together. We *would* get through this.

  
I continued to tell myself this over and over as Calvin and I made our way to the room we hadn’t touched yet in this hallway. Upon entering, we could see several beds alongside cabinets spread about the room. A desk sat at the far end, and there was a boy rummaging through it. He had black hair and black eyes hidden behind a set of glasses. His white shirt had a pocket protector too, in which he seemed to have slipped a few pencils and the like.   
  
“Hey,” I called out to him, attracting his attention. He stopped investigating and waved.   
  
“Ah, hello. I guess you’re looking around too?”   
  
“Something like that. Have any idea what kind of room this is?” If he was the one investigating the room, he had to know it’s purpose.   
  
“Oh, yeah. Definitely an infirmary. There are several medical supplies around here. I suppose I should introduce myself. I’m Daisuke Yoshikawa. Hope’s Peak refers to me as the Ultimate Doctor. I hope we can get along.”   
  
Cavin gasped. “Wait, you’re THE Doctor Yoshikawa? Dude, I’ve heard about you on the news all the time! They say you’ve never once failed to save a patient. Is that true?”   
  
He chuckled, clearly a bit embarrassed. “Yes. I have yet to have a patient die on me, but I think we should focus on some other things right now, yes?”   
  
I smiled a bit at Calvin’s enthusiasm. “Yeah, let’s focus on exploration and not fanboying, alright?” He blushed a bit and looked away. I turned back to the Doctor. “I am glad we have a doctor though. Hopefully that means we can keep everyone healthy.”   
  
Daisuke nodded. “Yeah, I hope so. I’d love it if I could prevent any serious injuries from happening. Please, if you feel sick or anything at all, tell me. If we’re going to get out of here we can’t afford to have anyone get sick.”   
  
“That’s something we can agree on, thank you.” It wasn’t a lie to say at least some of a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I thought back to Brad’s injury, but he seemed confident in his ability to treat it on his own, and I figured it wasn’t serious enough to report it.   
  
After chatting for a bit longer, we made a move on. Making our way to the opposite hallway, we found 2 more rooms waiting for us on this side. However, unlike the previous hallway, this one ended with a gate that seemed to block us off from proceeding. “Looks like this one is cut short.”   
  
“Yeah, guess we aren’t allowed to go that way.” Calvin tried to open the gate but it wouldn’t budge at all. “Well, guess we can’t do much about it…”   
  
As if to answer our questions, suddenly Monokuma appeared from nowhere with a smile. “That’s right! This area is currently under construction. As such, you cannot continue past this point. After all, the magic of a theme park would be lost if you saw the behind the scenes stuff!”   
  
As much as I hated seeing this bear, it was a good time to try to get some information out of him. “So, how long will it be under construction then? I can’t imagine the great “Monokuma Land” would just be this castle.”   
  
“Of course we’ve got more than just this castle! But construction takes time, and you can’t rush perfection. Just give it a little while and I’m sure you’ll be able to experience more of the park!” He expertly dodged actually answering my question, and it made me a little annoyed. The more I saw of this bear, the more I worried about the person behind this.   
  
Calvin had a question of his own however. “So, like...you are a robot or whatever, right? Someone is controlling you?” I blinked at that question. He didn’t seriously think Monokuma was actually a bear did he?   
  
“How dare you call me just a “robot”! I am the great Monokuma! I make normal robots look like kitchen appliances! As for who or what is going on, there’s no need for you to worry about that. After all, you all said you wouldn’t play the game, right?” This last part caused his eye to glow once more, intimidating me straight into silence. Calvin seemed to agree.   
  
“Good, if there are no further questions, enjoy your time at the park!” He waved us off and disappeared as quickly as he came, leaving us both alone. He didn’t really answer anything we wanted, or rather, he didn’t give us any information we didn’t already know. Frustrated, we decided to head to the next room, choosing the one to our immediate left.   
  
Upon entering we were greeted with a massive library that seemed to go beyond the floor we were currently on. Rows upon rows of books cluttered every inch of the place, and even the seating areas had more strewn about. Multiple lamps were placed around the room to presumably allow reading even during night time. “I’ve never seen so many books in one place before.” I wasn’t lying either. I could only imagine just what was contained within this library.   
  
My thoughts were interrupted by a man's voice from around one of the bookshelves. “Books are one of the most important sources of information. You would do well to remember that.” After emerging I could see his face. He had black hair and green eyes. The most striking thing about his outfit was the cross shaped necklace he had around his neck. He gave us a soft smile and waved. “I’m sure you’re here to introduce yourselves, so allow me to start. Hiroki Watanabe. Ultimate Information Broker.”   
  
“Ultimate...Information Broker?” I repeated this out loud. Since I had stopped at my name in the list, I hadn’t actually noticed him or his talent. “So, you know a lot of things then.”   
  
He smirked and nodded. “Indeed. I am a collector of information you could say. After all, in this age the one who holds knowledge is the one who holds power. But you, my dear, intrigue me greatly.” The way he looked at me almost made me sweat. It’s like he was a predator watching his prey slowly limping away.   
  
“I interest you? W-why would I do that?” I actually took a step back. Calvin quickly moved between us defensively. Hiroki did not approach any further and simply chuckled, shaking his head.   
  
“Now, now. I’m not going to hurt you or anything. I’m interested because I know nothing about you, Fioren. I thought I had studied all the new members of Hope’s Peak Academy this year, but it seems one slipped through the cracks.”   
  
Calvin frowned and continued staring him down. “Yeah, well, don’t get any funny ideas. She doesn’t remember much anyway.”   
  
“She doesn’t remember now, does she? That just makes things more interesting. Well then, Fioren. I suppose when I deduce the machinations behind your puzzle, I’ll tell you first.” We hadn’t even introduced ourselves yet, and he already called me by my name. That guy was definitely giving me the creeps. We wanted to explore the library further, but decided against it.   
  
Opting to leave, we stood outside in the hallway for a moment. “That guy was…” I started, but couldn’t find the right words to say. Every word I came up with felt like a disservice to what we just experienced.    
  
Calvin simply grunted a bit and pointed at the next door. “Let’s just get a move on. We can check out the rest of that place later. I don’t wanna deal with that guy any more than I have to.” I could certainly agree there. We made our way into the final room. Upon entering, we saw what appeared to be an extremely large warehouse area. It went down the entire length of the hallway and was filled with an assortment of all kinds of different stuff.   
  
“This is incredible” I heard my voice reverberating across the room. Just how massive was this warehouse area? Everything from toilet paper, canned foods, to even exercise equipment and pool supplies was located in this room, and that was only what I could immediately see.   
  
“Impressed, eh? I was too.” A voice spoke up as the girl with twintails emerged from around one of the corners, spinning her finger around in her hair. “Monokuma really pulled out all the stops. This is like, so totally amazing. Aside from the kidnapping thing of course.”   
  
“Uhm, right. And you are?”I was really hoping this conversation would go better than last time. She seemed friendly enough, but then again so did Hiroki at first.   
  
“Oh my god, you’re right. We don’t know each other! Well let’s correct that right now.” She put her hands to her hips with a proud smile on her face. “I’m Hitomi Matsuda! Ultimate Diplomat at your service.”   
  
Ultimate Diplomat? I would have expected someone with that talent to sound much more refined and less...like some girl from a social media blog. Calvin seemed to be unimpressed too, but whatever comments he had were kept to himself. I decided to follow suit. “I see. Well i’m Fioren Maxwell, and this is Calvin Rosemary.”   
  
She blinked in surprise. “Oh wow, and you guys are like totally speaking perfect Japanese! I’m impressed. Course that lifeguard and attorney were too. I wasn’t expecting so many Americans at Hope’s Peak this year! When we get out this will be so totally fun. You guys gotta tell me all about your life.”   
  
We both were a little caught off guard by her enthusiasm. Calvin just chuckled a bit. “Well thanks, I guess. I had to study real hard for it when I found out I was gonna be going to school there. Course they told me I didn’t have to and they’d help but…”   
  
“Wow, you even learned on your own?! Man, you must be like the Ultimate Linguist or something. I’m right, aren’t I?” She smiled a very bright smile at that. I couldn’t really tell what I should make of this girl. She completely destroyed my expectations of how an “Ultimate Diplomat” should act.   
  
“Sorry. Fraid not. Ultimate Lucky Student at your service. Fioren here doesn’t remember what hers is, so don’t bother asking her about it.”   
  
“Bummer. Oh well. That’s super awesome you guys worked so hard to get here though. And don’t worry, we’ll like, totally get out of here soon enough so no worries.” She gave a peace sign to us as if she didn’t have a care in the world.   
  
Sweat could almost be felt rolling down the back of my head.“Right. In any case, find anything interesting in here Hitomi?”    
  
“Nothing you wouldn’t expect ya know? All the essentials, some fun stuff to mess with, etceteria. Monokuma really wants us to stay here, but like, we don’t have time for all that. Hope’s Peak is gonna be expecting us, ya know?”   
  
Calvin rubbed the back of his head. “You, uh, sound pretty chipper. Aren’t you worried about this death game stuff?”   
  
“That? Oh please. Like anyone’s actually gonna murder each other. We have no reason to. All we need to do is wait a few days and we’ll be rescued. He’ll only hurt us if we don’t follow the rules, so we gotta just stick with it for a bit.” She seemed so sure of herself, it almost made me wanna just listen. It was as if her very words were persuading me to believe her. Perhaps that was the true power of the Ultimate Diplomat?    
  
I figured it best to just simply agree with her and move on. We examined some of the various things we could find in the warehouse before leaving the room. With that, it seemed our exploration of the castle was done, yet there were still some people missing that we hadn’t seen yet. “Guess that takes care of everything, huh?” Calvin yawned a bit, clearly the fatigue from the day starting to get to him.   
  
As we were standing planning our next move, one of those said missing people approached us. The green haired doll of a girl stood before us, and even her voice sounded pristine and proper. “Excuse me. I was sent to inform you all that tomorrow morning we are going to be meeting in the dining area of the lobby to discuss our findings from today. Allison and Ida said it is important for us to meet every morning so we will know immediately if something is wrong.”   
  
“Makes sense,” I said back to her. “By the way, I haven’t gotten to introduce myself yet. I’m Fioren Maxwell and this is Calvin. It’s nice to meet you.”   
  
The smile that graced her lips was one of the more beautiful things I had ever seen in the world. I almost felt my heart skip a beat as she beamed down on us, like a god appearing before a set of lowly mortals. “I see, well allow me to introduce myself too. I am Emiko Maizono, the Ultimate Actress! If you want an autograph, feel free to ask.” She said the last part with a cute little giggle. I could feel the blood rushing to my face and I had to turn away. Calvin seemed to follow suit.   
  
“The message has been delivered, so I will be on my way. Enjoy the rest of your nights Calvin. Fioren.” She spun on her heel and almost skipped off, leaving us to have to collect ourselves. What was that? I’m not even one to normally find the same sex attractive, but even I felt like I wanted to bow before her and do anything she said.   
  
“So, that’s the Ultimate Actress huh? My little sis loves her movies. I never thought I’d see her in person. Maybe I should get her autograph…”   
  
“Calvin! Focus.”   
  
“Right, sorry.” He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head before shaking it to get his thoughts collected. “Guess we gotta wait till tomorrow then, huh?”   
  
“Looks to be that case.” Ida and Allison seemed to have quickly taken the lead of the group. Maybe I had worried too much. After all, if we had people like them to keep everyone together then maybe it would be better for me to just sit on the sidelines then. I felt a hand on my shoulder, as if I said my thoughts out loud.   
  
“Hey, even if they got things together, we’re just as important, yeah? Everyone’s gotta stick together. Even if some of us have less to offer than others, we gotta pull through.” He smiled at me and gave another of his stupid thumbs up. Even though it *was* stupid, I still felt the smile creep back into my face.   
  
“Thank you, Calvin.” It really felt good. It felt good to finally have someone I could consider a friend. It was almost ironic in a sense that the only possible scenario someone like me could have a friend would be a place like this. Calvin, despite how spacey he seemed, was a nice guy who really cared about us. Even knowing we were trapped inside this place, in that moment I felt something. I felt like we could do it. I felt like we could keep things together and really fight back against Monokuma. It was the first time I really felt hope in this desperate situation. How long would that last though, it was hard to say.    


The two of us eventually returned to the hotel. As we walked into the lobby, the same ominous bell rang, implying Monokuma was to make an announcement.   
  
“Attention all guests! It is now 10 PM, which means it is officially Night Time. As such, certain areas of the park are closed and the water will be shut off in the hotel. Sleep tight, and don’t let the bedbugs bite!” The monitor had shown Monokuma in what appeared to be some grand office looking room as he leaned back in a chair with some sort of pajama like hat on.   
  
“Oh right.” I remembered back to the rules. Monokuma had mentioned that Night Time started strictly at 10 PM. That means that’s the exact time. But, that makes no sense. It didn’t look like it was night time outside when I…   
  
As if to answer my thoughts, the park seemed to switch to some low-powered mode as the lights began to dim. To humor myself, I opened the door back outside to check, and sure enough, it now looked like night time outside. Did that mean what I saw up high in the tower was fake?   
  
I decided to simply quiet my thoughts for now, and after bidding Calvin goodnight, returned to my room. Standing inside, finally left to my thoughts alone, I couldn’t help but feel that dread return to me. Sure everyone was working together now, but we still had no idea what Monokuma was truly capable of. It’s not every day you get locked up in some twisted amusement park by a robot bear wanting you to kill each other after all. Fatigue set in rapidly as a loud yawn escaped my mouth.   
  
“I can’t really think about this right now.” Even if I did, it wasn’t like I was going to get any answers. Who was Monokuma? Why were we here? And how were we supposed to escape? These questions and more haunted my thoughts until I passed out.   
  
Before I knew it, morning came. I was awoken by another announcement. “Good morning everyone! The time is now 7 AM, which means it’s time to start another beautiful day! So go out there and show the world what you got!”   
  
_ It’s already morning?  _ Slowly rising from the bed I rubbed my eyes. There was a part of me that hoped this was some sick and twisted dream, but sadly it wasn’t. I checked my wardrobe to see if I was provided any other outfits, but aside from more copies of my current outfit, nothing else was in my drawers.  _ Guess I’m stuck with a suit… _   
  
I showered and at least changed my outfit slightly. I decided to ditch the overcoat of the suit and simply wear the dress shirt I had underneath. If I was going to be stuck here a while, I didn’t want to have to wear a stuffy outfit constantly. After preparing for the day, I left my room.   
  
Outside, I saw the one person I hadn’t interacted with yet. The boy in the red beanie stood outside his room stretching. He noticed me and gave a half hearted wave. “Morning.”   
  
“Good morning. I didn’t see you yesterday. Didn’t you want to explore with everyone?” I asked innocently.   
  
“Huh? Oh well uh, to be honest. I kinda hoped this was all a dream and went back to bed once Monokuma was done talking to us. Guess it wasn’t….”   
  
“Sadly not.” I frowned a bit. Everyone was handling this in their own way it seemed. “I’m Fioren. You are?”   
  
“Yoshi Amada. Guess you want my talent too probably. Ultimate Chemist at your service I suppose. Nice to meet ya.” He shook my hand.   
  
“Chemist huh? Interesting. In any case, we should head down for that meeting Alison and Ida wanted.” I got a nod in agreement and we headed down to the dining area. I noted that more cameras seemed to be around than last time. It looked like overnight Monokuma had added a camera and monitor to each room. How he managed to do that without causing a ruckus I still don’t understand.   
  
Be that as it may, when we arrived Ida and Alison were the only ones there. However, before long everyone else would follow suit in short order. As the last person arrived, Ida was the one to start.   
  
“Good morning everyone! I am glad you all decided to attend this meeting. This may seem silly to you, however keeping a routine is crucial to ensuring nothing happens while we’re here. This is also crucial to ensuring we all work together harmoniously to get out of here, so if you have ANY problems with anyone, please direct them to me and we can discuss it in private. If your problem is with me, still bring it to my attention. I am more than willing to work with you on any issues!”   
  
The guy was certainly loud, but his heart was in the right place. Abigail still seemed to be annoyed, but she didn’t outwardly express it. Alison spoke next. “Then, as our first order of business. Let’s discuss what we found, if anything, yesterday.”   
  
And so, we began. There was nothing discussed I hadn’t already noted before. The castle was vast, but we could only explore a portion of it. Whichever way we went there seemed to be no way out. The general mood of the room seemed to go down as each member discussed their little findings. Even Daisuke’s mention of the medical supplies he found did little to up our spirits.   
  
Ida even looked affected as his smile had turned to a frown. “So we really found...nothing?”   
  
It seemed this finally was the opportunity Abigail wanted to speak. “Yeah, we found nothing! And you wanna know why?!” She turned to face all of us in turn, her face full of fury. “Because we’re trapped here. Trapped by some psychopath that wants us to murder each other, and you guys are acting like this is some normal Tuesday! Don’t you get it? We’re trapped in here forever. No one’s coming to get us. Monokuma has us in his little pocket and he won’t let us go unless we play the damn game.”   
  
The outburst caused several reactions. Confusion. Anger. Sadness. A mixture of emotions that had been held back were finally released. The entire time Ida and Alison tried to keep everyone calm but it didn’t seem to work. I tried to think of something to say, but before I could…   
  
A whistle pierced through the crowd, causing everyone to quiet down as Hitomi had stepped up to speak. “Geez. Took ya guys long enough. Now listen to me. Abigail is right. We are trapped here. However, if we just sit and freak out about everything, that’s just giving the dumb bear what he wants. Seriously guys, pull yourselves together. You’re  **Ultimates** , right? You’re supposed to be the bright hope of the future and all you’re doing is bickering with each other. Talk about disappointing.   
  
Tell me how we’re supposed to get out of this situation if everyone is panicking?” She turned immediately toward Abigail. “Tell me, Abigail. How exactly is our situation any better? Please, I’m all ears. Cause from where I’m standing right now? You’re the problem. Not us. We’re trying to keep everyone together. Trying to keep things civil and manageable. And what do you want? You want everyone running around like a chicken with their heads cut off!”   
  
I was taken aback. No words came from my mouth to respond to what Hitomi was saying. Abigail looked furious but also couldn’t seem to find anything to say. At this point everyone had quieted down and were simply listening to Hitomi without question.   
  
She continued her speech as she stood on top of the table, looking down on us. “Look, guys. I get it. You’re scared. I’m scared too, but we gotta put our heads together if we wanna get out. Monokuma wants us all freaking out thinking we’re all dead, but as long as we follow the rules, everyone’s cool, ok? We’re fine. Just wait a few days, keep looking around and we’re bound to find something, yeah?” The bright smile on her face seemed to calm everyone down. It was amazing. I didn’t even realize she had that kind of talent. However, even she was unprepared for what happened next.   
  
Monokuma suddenly appeared behind her and pushed her off the table to the ground with a forceful push. Everyone gasped as she hit the ground, though thankfully she didn’t seem too injured. She did clutch at her ankle though. “Hey, no standing on school property!”   
  
Everyone turned their attention to Monokuma, and glared. I stepped forward. “What the hell was that for?!”   
  
“What was that for? Well, you guys seem to have reached some kind of wrong conclusion about me. Little Miss Diplomat thinks I won’t hurt you, so allow me to correct that notion right now!” On cue, we saw several sections of the ceiling open up as what appeared to be mounted turrets came out, all pointed at us. We all froze in fear staring at them. Monokuma simply continued to laugh.   
  
“Pwhahahahahahaha! You really think I’m just some chump that’ll play nice if you’re all behaved? What kind of boring amusement park is that? Do you think people pay money to watch people just sit around and do nothing? No! You’re like those people in the mascot costumes. No one cares about the person underneath, they’re just here to entertain us!”   
  
He pointed his clawed hand at Hitomi’s body on the floor and all the guns seemed prepared to rev up.”Messing with school property is against the rules! And we all know what happens to rule breakers!”  _ No, he can’t be serious! She didn’t do anything wrong, she was just trying to help us work together! _   
  
“I won’t let you!” Ida suddenly marched ahead and appeared in front of Hitomi.   
  
“Ida, don’t be an idiot!” I shouted at him through the crowd but I doubt he heard.   
  
“Yeah, seriously dude. Let’s just calm down…” Daisuke was trying to approach them, but Ida stubbornly held up his hands to stop him.   
  
“Monokuma! If you want to get to Hitomi, you have to go through me!”   
  
Monokuma sat still for a moment, before he immediately started laughing again. “Hahahahahahaha! Wow, you really are something, aren’t you? You know what, I’m in a good mood. So let’s leave you with a little  **warning** this time.” Before we could react, a bullet was fired from one of the guns and pierced Ida’s shoulder. He cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground.   
  
Daisuke and Alison were immediately by his side, Daisuke trying his best to close up the wound to stop the bleeding. As I stared back at Monokuma, it was as if a veil had been lifted, and I saw the “person” for who he really was. Pure malice given form. Who would kill us without a hint of hesitation.    
  
“Good. Now we seem to be on the same page. Daisuke, go ahead and patch him up, cause the next shot will be quite... **fatal** . Puhuhuhu. Oh, and I almost forgot. I came here for a reason.”   
  
No one dared to speak a word. We were utterly terrified of what we were witnessing. “Within each of your rooms, I’ve prepared a very special present for each of you. A personalized  **motive** that will REALLY get the blood pumping! Pwhahahahahahahahahahaha!”   
  
As he laughed, he vanished. The guns soon followed suit, but even with the imminent threat of danger gone, we still refused to move. Hitomi had clearly sprained her ankle in the fall she took, and Ida had been shot. Two injuries in a matter of minutes. All because we thought we were safe. Because we had finally managed to work together for a little bit.   
  
“This meeting is done. Everyone do about your day as you will,” Alison began as she looked at Daisuke. “Let’s carry Ida to the infirmary. Can someone else grab Hitomi?!” The question was answered as Hiroki and Yoshi volunteered to carry her, leaving the rest of us behind as they left.   
  
“See….this is what we’re really dealing with here,” Abigail said ominously as she began to leave the hotel. “And that’s why...I’m staying away from you people!” With that, she quickly vacated the building.   
  
Scanning over everyone left, I noticed Emiko on the floor. “Emiko!” I rushed over and shook her. I didn’t want to think she had gotten injured too. Thankfully, she roused quickly.   
  
“Huh? Oh, Fioren. I...sorry I fainted. What happened?” Her eyes went wide as her brain registered everything. “Oh my! Are Ida and Hitomi alright?!”    
  
“Yeah, they should be,” I reassured her. “Daisuke took them. Some of the boys are helping carry them.”   
  
“Ah, good. Good. Thank you.” She began to stand up on her own. “I don’t handle blood well. Even the sight of it causes me to faint like that. Seeing Ida like that…”   
  
“It’s alright. Everything is fine now.” I looked back to where it happened, still seeing the blood splattered on the ground from Ida’s wound. Monokuma really just shot him like that, without any hesitation. If he had aimed anywhere else, Ida would have been dead. I helped Emiko back to her room before returning to mine to calm down.   
  
As I entered though, I blinked in surprise. Sitting on my bed was a folded up note. I wondered what it could be until Monokuma’s words repeated back in my head. Something about a personalized  **motive** ?   
  
I shuddered to think what he meant by that. What could he possibly give me as a motive for murder. Did I even *want* to know? Should I know? The note just continued to stare back at me, not choosing to answer any of my questions. I slowly approached my bed and reached down for the note. Every fiber in my being told me not to, but I had to know.    
  
Closing my eyes, I flipped open the letter and braced myself before looking at it. The words that were typed on it were direct and concise. My face paled and I felt my blood run cold.   
  
**I KNOW** **  
** **WHO YOU ARE** **  
** **  
** I immediately ripped it up into several pieces, panting heavily. My mind was racing a million miles a minute. If he knew *that* then why? Why was he being so coy about it? It made no sense. If he really wanted to make me suffer, why bother hiding it at all? It didn’t take long for me to finish ripping it up and throwing it into the trash can. Thankfully at this point I had calmed my breathing.   
  
“Focus Fioren. It’s ok. It’ll be ok. Just relax.” I repeated words over and over again to myself until I could properly function. I couldn’t let that distract me right now. Deciding to lay down for a bit to clear my head, I ended up falling asleep for a bit just repeating what happened this morning over and over again in my head. Even after all that...we still were so hopeless. What was I supposed to do? How was I, of all people, supposed to help everyone? I had to do something, right? I couldn’t just sit back and suffer in silence. People like Abigail and Ayane were so scared, and so helpless.   
  
…   
  
…   
  
Eventually, I rose from the exhaustion and stood up. I really didn’t have an answer to that question, however I knew I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing either. I had to keep my head on straight. Not just for my sake, but for everyone else too.   
  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
  
**FREE TIME START** **  
** **  
** **(A/N: Hello again, and hope you’re enjoying the story! Now, for this section I’m doing something slightly different. In the game, you are given time to go around and talk to people, helping increase your bonds. I am going to do that, and since its separate from the story, I’m going to write them during the daily life sections right where they’d be.** **  
** **  
** **However, I want YOU guys to decide who Fioren spends her free time with! I do have several friends I have shown this story to, and they have decided who we will be spending time with this time! So without further ado, let’s get things started.)** **  
** **  
** **EVENT 1: Calvin Rosemary, Ultimate Lucky Student** **  
** I heard a knock on my door, and after opening it, saw Calvin standing there. He had a very concerned looking scowl on his face, and he crossed his arms. “Hey, you alright? I haven’t seen you since you took Emiko up.”   
  
I sighed and tried my best to smile. “Sorry. I was just mentally exhausted after all that commotion, so I laid down for a bit. I didn’t mean to worry you.”   
  
He smiled and shook his head. “Nah, it's alright. I’m glad you’re ok though. Oh, and Daisuke said Hitomi and Ida are fine too.”   
  
The relief that statement gave me almost made me fall to the floor. “Thank goodness. I really was worried.”   
  
I decided to spend some time with Calvin discussing things that happened, and it helped a lot. He was the first person I had run into during this mess, so it made me feel a little closer to him. Feeling a little adventurous, I decided to ask him a personal question about something he brought up earlier. “Calvin, do you mind if I ask you something?”   
  
“Oh boy. Usually when people say that, it’s a question I don’t wanna answer. But go ahead.”   
  
“Tell me a little about your sister. I’m curious.”   
  
Calvin sighed. “Of course that’s your first question. Alright, fine. But only cause it’s you. My little sister is only about 8. Guess that’s why she reminds me a bit of Ayane.”   
  
I smiled at the thought of a little girl running around trying to get her big brother to play with her. “Awh, that sounds really sweet. What’s her name?”   
  
“Emily. She’s a spirited little girl. A lot smarter than I am, that’s for sure. She’s definitely got a bright future ahead of her. Makes me happy to be her brother.”   
  
A chuckle escaped my lips. “I can imagine. You mentioned she liked Emiko’s movies a lot?”   
  
He blushed a bit and nodded. “Yeah. She always likes seeing movies that have pretty girls and stuff. Emiko is well known internationally, and she kinda fell in love with her a bit. But hey, let’s not make this all about me though.”   
  
“Huh? What do you mean?”   
  
He smirked and gave a thumbs up. “What about you? You got any siblings?”   
  
The smile quickly disappeared from my face. “No. I don’t.”   
  
Calvin blinked a bit in surprise then clutched the side of his neck. “Oh uh, touchy subject. Sorry.”   
  
I shook my head. “No. You’re fine. I think we can just leave it at that. Thanks for talking with me.”   
  
“Oh, uh. No problem.” On that sour note, Calvin left. I wondered if that was the right thing to tell him. I mean, it has to be better to say that as opposed to the fact my family hates me, right?   
  
**Bond level 1 out of 5 obtained!**   
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
  
**EVENT 2: Hitomi Matsuda, Ultimate Diplomat**   
  
I decided to visit the infirmary before the end of the day to check up on Ida and Hitomi. When I got there, surprisingly Daisuke was not around. Hitomi seemed to be awake however, so I walked over to her. “Good to see you up. Where’s Daisuke?”   
  
“Oh, he went to go find an ice pack or something for my foot. It twisted bad when I fell. Prolly be in bed for a few days.” Even though she was explaining an injury, she didn’t look any less happy.   
  
“Right. It’s terrible what happened. I can’t believe Monokuma was willing to threaten you just to prove a point.”   
  
She twiddled with her hair a bit and looked away. “Suppose so. Not the first time I’ve been threatened though.”   
  
“Huh?!” I was shocked. Was she being serious?   
  
She giggled and nodded. “What, do you think I’m lying? I *am* a diplomat after all. Do you think that doesn’t include a lot of yelling and screaming? Politics is pretty dangerous, ya know?”   
  
“I guess so…” We sat and talked for a little while about the dangers of politics. It made sense, but I didn’t really think about it much. Just how many times had her life been threatened unless she gave someone the result they wanted? After all was set and done, I decided to try to gleam more info.   
  
“So, if you’ve been in dangerous situations before...what kind of things have happened?”   
  
“Oh! Loads of stuff. One time I was taken hostage in the middle of a peace conference.” She stated this serious matter with the same blissful smile plastered across her face.   
  
“Seriously?! Why would they do that?”   
  
“Oh, well I was a visiting emissary trying to help the country negotiate with some rebel group. Said rebels didn’t want to make peace, so they held us all hostage. Of course, I got them to stand down and turn themselves in.” She spoke as if this was a normal day in her life.  _ I swear I will never underestimate the Ultimate Diplomat again… _   
  
“That’s incredible. How did you manage to do it?”   
  
“Well, I quickly figured out the rebels just wanted a few laws passed that would make things easier for them. Once you figure out the source of the conflict, it’s a matter of discussion with both sides and reaching a mutual consensus. Sure, neither side gets entirely what they want, but as long as it works out, all’s well that ends well.” She leaned back in the bed and sighed. “Now if only I could talk to Abigail, but I’m stuck.”   
  
“Hey,” I reach out a hand to her shoulder reassuringly. “You did great. Don’t sweat it. She just needs time. We all do.” It didn’t help that my mind continued to drift back to my motive. What could everyone else’s be?   
  
Hitomi giggled again and smiled brightly at me. “Thanks Fioren. But don’t worry about me. I won’t be all mopey. You can’t be a good diplomat if you let some failures get to you, ya know?”   
  
I really felt like I understood Hitomi a lot more after that talk. She *really* was an amazing person. I decided to chat until Daisuke arrived and left, feeling a little better about our circumstances.   
  
**Bond Level 1 out of 5 obtained!** **  
** **  
** \----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
  
**EVENT 3:** **Ayane Matsumoto, Ultimate Soccer Star**   
  
After hearing the bell for Night Time, I decided to head back to the hotel. In the lobby, I noticed Ayane sitting there looking extremely depressed. I remembered how she looked when Calvin and I talked to her. Feeling like I should do something, I decided to sit down and talk to her for a little while.   
  
Even though she didn’t talk much, I could tell she felt a little better. I decided to continue the conversation. “So, Ayane. How old are you, anyway?”   
  
“I’m fifteen.” She said, still with a frown on her face. “This was supposed to be my first year of high school.”   
  
“Really?! That’s incredible.” Normally Hope’s Peak scouted out students already IN High School. So for a student to be scouted as they were heading into High School must mean..   
  
“Huh? Why’s it so incredible?” She looked genuinely surprised. I decided to explain.   
  
“Well, one of the requirements for Hope’s Peak is that you are a current high school student. The fact they decided to scout you as you graduated must mean you’re really impressive with that ball.”   
  
She flushed a little red. “Oh, ummm, thank you Fioren. I don’t really. I mean, I guess I have done really well.”   
  
“It’s no wonder you’ve already been scouted for that international team. I’m sure you’re really excited.” I figured talking about a subject she enjoyed would make her feel a lot better.   
  
“I guess.” Surprisingly though, she seemed sadder. “I’m not really sure about that though.”   
  
I blinked in surprise. “Why not?”   
  
“Well, I play Soccer for fun. I didn’t really wanna do it my whole life. So, I’m not sure if I wanna do it.” She kept the frown on her face. Clearly she’d been thinking about this for a while.   
  
“Then, why decide to go to Hope’s Peak in the first place?”   
  
“Well, they say if you graduate you can do anything right? So I figured if I go for my soccer I can do something else when I graduate.” A sigh. “Course, I don’t know what I wanna do yet…”   
  
“Hey, I’m sure you’ll figure something out. After all, when we get outta here, I can help you.”   
  
She gasped in surprise. “Wait, you wanna help me? Why?”   
  
I smiled down at the young girl. “Well, cause I wanna help everyone. We’re all here to work together, right? So once we get out, I wanna try to keep connected with everyone. You all seem like wonderful people to know.”   
  
She shied away from my vision, but I could see the smile creep on her face. “T-thank you, Fioren…”   
  
**Bond Level 1 out of 5 obtained!** **  
** **  
** \----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\   
  
**EVENT 4: Nobuhiro Ida, Ultimate Life Coach**   
  
As the new day dawned, I decided to go check up in the infirmary again. This time ida was up, which made me feel very relieved. Daisuke was dealing with Hitomi, so i decided to approach Ida. “Hey. I’m glad to see you’re up. I was really worried.” I couldn’t help but frown remembering seeing him on the floor like that.   
  
“Now, now. Don’t be sad Fioren. I did what I had to. It is not something to feel regret over.” He smiled brightly at me, though I didn’t feel much better.   
  
“How can you say that?! You got shot.”   
  
“HAHAHAHAHAHA! Now, Fioren. Do you really think that a measly bullet would be the end of Nobuhiro Ida!? It is my duty to guide you all and protect you as the Ultimate Life Coach, and to that end I shall do whatever I need to protect you, even if it means standing against Monokuma!”   
  
I just couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Was this guy insane? “Don’t get yourself killed over something as stupid as pride. We need you here, not dead.”   
  
He patted me on the shoulder. “Don’t worry my dear. I have no intention of dying. I wouldn’t be able to protect anyone from beyond the grave, now would I?”   
  
We sat and talked for a little while about life. Even through his motivational speeches, I could tell he genuinely wanted to make me feel better. I felt like I was beginning to understand him more. Still, I did have one question on my mind. “So, Ultimate Life Coach. What does that even mean? What’s your job?”   
  
“You don’t know what a Life Coach is?!” He seemed like I had just shattered his entire world.   
  
“Enlighten me.” I had an idea of course, but I wanted to hear it from his own mouth. What he felt his job was.   
  
“It is a Life Coach’s duty to guide his charge onto the proper course in this life. People come to me when they are troubled, and I help them get back on their feet. Whether they be a homeless man or even a King, all are treated equal within my presence! For I will be the one to lead the entire world on it’s proper course!”   
  
I blinked several times. “So, I guess you became a Life Coach cause you felt the world was wrong then?”

He shook his head and chuckled. “No, of course not. Even I am not that foolish. I happened upon a man who seemed to be very despondent. He told me he was set to take over his family’s business, but his passion lay elsewhere. I decided to give him some advice, and it turned out his new business skyrocketed while his family’s business had to shut down!”   
  
“Wow, talk about a close call there, huh?””   
  
Ida beamed with a giant smile. “Indeed. And since that day I have had numerous encounters with many people. That is when I realized my true calling in life. That to be a guide to those who were lost, to lead them on the proper path! And for that, I will give every ounce of my strength to achieve! For I am Nobuhiro Ida, the Ultimate Life Coach!”   
  
I didn’t really know what to make of it. But if he really helped up a lot of people like that, I guess it was good. He was extremely overzealous, but his heart was in the right place. He continued to talk to me, and by the time I left, motivation seized me and made the day feel a little better.   
  
**Bond Level 1 out of 5 obtained!** **  
** **  
** \----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
  
**EVENT 5: Alison Wright, Ultimate Defense Attorney** **  
** **  
** When I decided to go get lunch, I saw Alison in the kitchen. I decided to approach her, hoping the good news I had might make her feel better. “Hey, Ida is awake and he’s doing fine.”   
  
Alison’s sigh of relief was immediate. “Thank goodness. I don’t know what I’d do if he ended up really hurt.”   
  
Since she seemed a little off, I figured it best to spend some time with her talking about things. We explained our feelings about the situation, and I felt like I got to know her a little better, though given how my previous conversations went I decided to ask a similar question.   
  
“How did you fall into your talent anyway? Most attorneys aren’t as young as you are. I can’t imagine you got there easily.”   
  
She chuckled and shook her head. “Oh no, it was not easy. I was working as an assistant to my father during a rather prolific case. He was to defend one of his childhood friends, a prosecutor he had fought against several times. Our opponent was a fierce man who had never lost a case in over 30 years.”   
  
“30 years? I can’t even imagine having a win record that long. How the heck did you handle that? I wouldn’t do good staring down those odds. I probably would have just given up.   
  
“It was tough, however we believed strongly in our client’s innocence. And after 3 days we managed to not only prove that, but also that our opposition was guilty of the crime himself, and a previous crime that had been committed 8 years ago.”   
  
No words escaped my mouth. I didn’t even know what I should say to that. Eventually, I managed to stop my gawking to speak. “That’s...incredible. No wonder you’re called an Ultimate.”   
  
She shook her head, her expression returning to a neutral state. “It was because of both me and my father we managed to succeed. Eventually, he gave me a few cases of my own, and after awhile I earned enough clout to be given the bar exam despite my age, which I passed.”   
  
I just shook my head. “Jeez, you’re incredible. I doubt I’d ever get that far. Any other cases you wanna talk about?”   
  
I actually got a laugh out of that stoic face as she finished preparing her breakfast. “Sure. Let’s talk while we eat. I have quite a few stories. Maybe I should start with the one about the parrot…”   
  
During lunch she told me about numerous cases she had taken, some even in other countries. Listening to her stories was quite an experience, and I felt like I knew her a lot better now. Afterward, I decided to return to my room for the night.   
  
**Bond Level 1 out of 5 Obtained!** **  
** **  
** \----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
  
Even as I lay in my bed thinking about things, I still felt restless. It had been several days since Monokuma gave us our “motives” and nothing had happened. It wasn’t Night Time yet, but I could tell sleep wasn’t going to come easy.    
  
Eventually, I decided to get up, hoping to clear my head. Once I got down to the lobby, I noticed Emiko sitting around as well, having put on some romance movie she must have grabbed from the drawing room. “Can’t rest either, huh?”   
  
She turned to me and frowned. “No, I just can’t help feeling uneasy. I wish we could just leave…”   
  
I wished I could tell her anything to make her feel better, but nothing came to mind, except one thing. “Well, why don’t we go for a walk? That’ll help us clear our heads.”   
  
“Oh? Yes, I can agree to that. Very well.” She got up with a smile. “Shall we go then? I wasn’t really interested in this movie anyway.” We headed out of the lobby, and started making our way toward the castle. I decided it might be a good idea to head to that massive ballroom. It was about the only place that had a good view of the park, and since it was almost Night Time, I thought it might be cool to watch the stars.   
  
When we arrived at the castle however, I paused. “Huh?” Why was the door open? I can’t imagine someone just leaving it like that unless they were in a hurry.   
  
“What’s wrong Fioren?”   
  
“N-nothing. Let’s keep going.” I decided to ignore it and press on, however I had an uneasy feeling. I walked in, and it didn’t help when I noticed something on the ground. It looked like…   
  
_ No. You’re probably just seeing things Fioren. Why would there be droplets of blood on the floor?  _ I turned to look down each hallway and my heart skipped a beat when I noticed the Library door hanging open.   
  
I turned to Emiko, and very quietly whispered. “Follow me.” She nodded and we made our way to the library door. Just as we were about to enter, I heard the ominous chime of the Night Time announcement. The timing of the lights powering down let my heartbeat start pounding as I finally reached the door.    
  
I opened it as quietly as I could, and stepped inside. At first I didn’t see anything. However, after taking several steps into the room, I froze. It was as if all the demons inside my mind came out collectively at once and laughed at me.   
  
I didn’t want to believe it, but laying on the ground was none other than…..the dead body of Hiro Mishima, the Ultimate Painter.   
  
**CHAPTER 1: MAGICAL WORLD OF NIGHTMARES** **  
** **DAILY LIFE END** **  
** **  
** **15 STUDENTS REMAIN**


	3. Magical World of Nightmares Deadly Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the first death, comes the first investigation. It's up to Fioren to investigate and determine who killed her friend, and ensure everyone will get out of the trial alive!

**CHAPTER 1: MAGICAL WORLD OF NIGHTMARES** **  
** **DEADLY LIFE** **  
** **  
** **  
** “Hiro?!” I shouted his name at the top of my lungs as the sight before me registered. Hiro’s body lay on the ground with a clear wound in his stomach area that was bleeding, and he was sprawled out on his back. I could hear Emiko starting to fall so I caught her easily. “Hey, hang in there. I-I’ll get Daisuke. Just wait here!” I propped Emiko against the wall, then sprinted out of the library toward the infirmary.  _ No, there has to still be time! It looks like it just happened...I can… _ _   
_ _   
_ I slammed open the door to the infirmary without a moment’s hesitation. My face paled when I noticed Daisuke wasn’t there. My actions had awoken Ida, who was still in the infirmary. “Huh? Fioren, what’s wrong?”   
  
“Ida, where’s Daisuke? I need him right now.”   
  
“Calm down Fioren. Daisuke was just checking up on Hitomi in the dorms. He’ll be back any moment. What the hell happened?”   
  
I just stood still for a moment, trying to find the words to say. “Hiro is…..he’s been stabbed. He needs medical attention now!”   
  
Ida’s eyes widened. “WHAT?!” He started trying to pull himself from bed, still clutching at his shoulder slightly.   
  
“Take it easy Ida. I’ll go get Daisuke. You wait here.” I didn’t wait to hear his response as I sprinted back toward the entrance. At this point my lack of physical activity in my past was really starting to get to me. Panting with heavy breaths, I stood outside the castle desperately looking around for him.   
  
I don’t know how long it was before I saw him start coming from the hotel. “Daisuke! I need you to head to the library right now. It’s Hiro!” He didn’t give much of a response other than to quickly head toward my direction. The two of us made our way quickly to the library, trying to reach there as fast as possible.   
  
However, as we stepped into the library, I just knew. It was too late. More blood than even before had seeped out from his back, and his body had been moved slightly, as if his clinging to life had finally ceased. Emiko stood right next to him with a deep frown on her face.   
  
I couldn’t even look her in the face. “He’s...dead, isn’t he?”   
  
As if the fates had a sick sense of humor, the ominous bell dinged its deadly tune. I already knew what was coming, but Daisuke still ran to the body to examine it.   
  
“A new body has been discovered! Everyone please report to the library immediately. I repeat, everyone please report to the library immediately!” Monokuma’s words reverberated in my skull over and over again. No, it couldn’t be. I was too slow. I couldn’t save him. I couldn’t…   
  
Shortly afterward, everyone arrived. Shouting and confusion followed as everyone really took in what they were seeing. After all of this, somebody had committed the unthinkable. They had killed Hiro. Monokuma appeared amidst our shouting and laughed.   
  
“Well, now isn’t this a treat! Seems you all are more gung-ho than I thought!”   
  
Ayane looked to him with tears in her eyes. “Wait, you mean...one of us really..”   
  
“That’s right!” He gleefully shouted. “One of the people in this very room killed Hiro Mishima, the Ultimate Painter. And now it’s up to you all to investigate and figure out who the blackened is!”   
  
Alison glared to the bear and scoffed. “Investigate? We don’t have any tools. What do you expect us to do here?”   
  
“Puhuhuhu. Oh don’t worry. I took care of all the nasty work for you. Presenting….the Monokuma File! This handy piece of evidence will tell you who the victim is, their time of death, and how they met their end. Everything else is up to you all, so everyone please look to your monopads!”   
  
I pulled my own and turned it on as it flashed to the “evidence” page I had neglected before.  _ So, this is where we store our evidence… _   
  
**MONOKUMA FILE 1:** **  
** **Hiro Mishima, the Ultimate Painter was found dead in the Library.** **  
** **Time of death is 10:04 PM** **  
** **Cause of death is a knife wound** **  
** **  
** **(Monokuma File added to truth bullets)** **  
** **  
** No words were said as everyone stared at the file. All of us were taking it in, I suppose. Monokuma stood for a moment, and once he realized we had all received the file, he resumed speaking. “Now then, as I said before. An investigation will now start where it’s up to all of you to figure out what happened. Once a certain amount of time has passed, namely when I get bored of waiting, a class trial will be held. At that time, I will call you all to a certain location to gather for it. Good luck my little detectives! I hope you get the right answer...for your sakes Puhuhuhuhu.” The bear then vanished to whence he came, leaving us to just stare at the body of our newly deceased classmate. **  
** **  
** _ Damn it. It really is true. Hiro is dead. And I couldn’t do anything to prevent this.  _ I felt a hand on my shoulder. Calvin had approached me and he just smiled at me. No words were spoken, but I could tell instantly what he was saying. I couldn’t afford to let this stop me. If we had to investigate this then...I had to. I would find out who killed Hiro!   
  
**INVESTIGATION….START!** **  
** **  
** There weren’t many words spoken at that point. It seemed that many came to the same conclusion, breaking into their own groups to begin investigating. I decided to stick with Calvin, as he was the one I felt the most comfortable with. “I can’t believe it. Someone really died.”   
  
He shook his head. “Look, we can get through this, ok? You seem like a pretty smart girl. I’m sure you can figure out something, right?” He looked around for a moment and sighed. “Right, well you go ahead and start with the body or whatever. I’m gonna do my own investigation. Best to split up and cover more ground, eh?”   
  
“Thanks Calvin. Good luck to you.” I waved off Calvin. I was hoping we’d be able to work together, but he was right. It was more imperative to get as much investigated as fast as possible, lest the bear get bored and force us to do the trial early. I walked over to Hiro’s body, which Daisuke was still sitting by. Something about the body bothered me ever since I came back in here.   
  
_ It’s in a different position than it was when I came in the first time. I should make a note of that… _ _   
_ _   
_ **(Body’s Position added to Truth Bullets)**   
  
The look Daisuke gave me made my heart sink. “If I would have gotten here sooner, I could have saved him. I know it! Damn it, I’m such a useless doctor if I can’t even save one of our friends..”   
  
I placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, it’s alright. I didn’t really help either. I probably could have tried to stop the bleeding or something.” I moved the body to examine it more closely. I noticed something that surprised me. On his back were two more stab wounds.  _ So he was stabbed three times? Seems a little excessive, but I guess if it gets the job done it gets the job done. _   
  
**(Stab Wounds added to Truth Bullets)** **  
** **  
** Aside from that, I didn’t think there was much else to gleam from the body until something caught my eye.  _ Huh? _ I examined his hands more closely and found what looked like flakes of something had caught against his hand, and squinting my eyes to the floor I managed to notice something. It looked like the top of a pedicured fingernail, completely colored red making it almost impossible to notice. Daisuke hadn’t seemed to notice either, so I decided to keep it to myself for now, considering…   
  
( **Tip of Fingernail added to Truth Bullets)** **  
** **  
** I turned my attention to Daisuke. “So, what’s the condition Doc? Was the Monokuma File correct?”   
  
He nodded solemnly. “Yes. It was. The stab wound on the stomach looks like it missed any fatal organs, but the ones on his back would have done him in instantly. I probably wouldn’t have been able to do anything except make it painless. I can only imagine what he went through.”   
  
I blinked a bit. “Wait, the wound on the stomach wasn’t fatal?” That seemed weird. Why would the killer bother placing a third wound if it wasn’t fatal?   
  
The doctor looked and blinked a bit before nodding. “Well, I wouldn’t say that per sey. The wound WOULD have killed him. But it would have taken a significantly longer time than the others. The killer probably missed their first stab and had to finish the job.”   
  
“I see. Thank you for the information.”  _ So, the first wound wasn’t fatal? That would explain some things. Still, let’s continue the investigation. _   
  
( **Daisuke’s Report added to Truth Bullets)**   
  
The next thing that I drew my attention to was the kitchen knife on the floor nearby the body. Considering the fact it was covered in blood, it was safe to assume this was the murder weapon we were searching for. I picked it up by the handle and began moving it around. Since fingerprints and the like weren’t a worry, I decided to test the weight. It was a sturdy knife, and sharp too. But it was lightweight enough I could believe almost anyone could have used it.   
  
“This looks like one of the knives from the kitchen,” I mused to myself as I examined it. All the knives from the kitchen had a distinctive design, featuring that bear’s head on the handle and the words “MONOKUMA LAND” sprawled across the length.   
  
_ A knife from the kitchen. Yeah, it would be a good idea to investigate that area just to be sure. _ Putting the knife back down, I decided to investigate elsewhere.   
  
( **Kitchen Knife added to Truth Bullets)** **  
** **  
** I wasn’t sure if there was really anything else to find in the Library, so I decided to talk to anyone who was still there. The only person, aside from Daisuke, who was still hanging around was Allison. She still seemed pale, and hadn’t moved much.  _ I guess she’s still in shock. _   
  
Walking over, I gently placed a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, you ok?”   
  
She scoffed and looked at Hiro. “Of course I’m not! Someone died! That shouldn’t have happened. Is it possible that those  **motives** really…”   
  
“Hey, let’s focus. I doubt anyone is just gonna come out and say anything about their motives.” Still, I couldn’t deny the possibility. The timing was too convenient. There was very little doubt in my mind those motives had something to do with it.   
  
**(Personalized Motive added to Truth Bullets)** **  
** **  
** “Do you have any testimonial that might help Allison? We need all the help we can get.”   
  
She seemed to shake herself into action at that, nodding. “Right, well my testimony probably won’t help. I...was in the dorm room the whole night. I briefly saw Calvin leave his room, but aside from that, nothing. Sorry.”   
  
“Hey, establishing a timeline of where everyone was is important. You said you saw Calvin leave? Do you remember around what time that was?”   
  
Her hand raised to her glasses and she pursed her lips in thought. “Timing is probably not exact, but it was around 9:30 I think. I distinctly remember hearing the Night Time announcement shortly afterward, and it was after that I decided to lay down for the night.”   
  
_ If Calvin left before 10, there’s a chance he might have seen something. I should keep this in mind when I see him next. _   
  
**(Allison’s Account added to Truth Bullets)** **  
** **  
** “Thanks Allison, and don’t worry. We’ll figure this one out. I promise.”   
  
Allison smiled up at me. “Thanks. You seem really reliable Fioren. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more helpful, but I will investigate too. And you’ll see my talent really shine at the Class Trial! Just you wait!”   
  
It made me feel good to see Allison in a better mood, but I didn’t have time to think about that. I had to find another area to investigate. Leaving the library, I mulled over my next move. I could investigate the kitchen next, but was that really the only other place of interest? As I stood there I noticed Hifumi nearby. She seemed to be lost in thought, so I decided to approach her.   
  
“Something on your mind Hifumi?”   
  
She looked up at me and sighed. “Shadows plague the sky. It’s impossible to see the stars shining now.”   
  
_ Right. I forgot. This is going to be interesting…. _   
  
“Well, the only way we can, um, see the stars again is to work together here. So, tell me. Did you see anything suspicious before Night Time tonight?”   
  
She coughed a bit and put a finger to her chin. “Right, well I was in the ballroom so I saw a lot of people come to and from the castle..”   
  
The surprise I felt almost prevented me from talking. “Wait, you said that normally?”   
  
A frown crept across her lips and she looked down sighing. “Yeah, I uh, couldn’t think of any profound way to word that. My brain is tired right now.”   
  
_ I’ll take whatever I can get. I didn’t really need her “poetry” right now.  _ “Right, well I think a timeline might be a good idea to establish here. Timing is very important to this case, I can feel it. So, can you go into a little more detail?”   
  
“Fine, whatever. I saw Abigail head toward the castle first. She was here since like...6. I know cause I was in there since then, practicing my craft. Tai and Hiro arrived at around the same time. Probably like 9ish? Calvin headed there next around 9:30.”   
  
“Wait,” I stopped her a moment. “You saw the victim head toward the castle around 9?”   
  
She nodded. “Yeah, he seemed a little nervous. I could tell from the way his face looked.”   
  
Placing my finger to my chin, I pondered that. Why would Hiro be so nervous? Did something happen before the crime?   
  
“Right. What about leaving? Who all left the castle?”   
  
“I don’t have exact times but I’ll try my best. I saw Daisuke leave somewhere before 10. He was the first one I saw. After that, the only other person I saw leave was Calvin. He basically sprinted back to the hotel.”   
  
“Hmmm,” The picture was starting to form in my head, but I wanted to finish my investigation before I made any judgments. “Hifumi, you’ve been an amazing help, thank you.”   
  
**(Hifumi’s Account added to Truth Bullets)** **  
** **  
** At this point, I felt exploring the castle more wouldn’t really help. So, I decided to make my way back toward the hotel to check out the kitchen area. If I could confirm the indentiy of the murder weapon, we would be well on our way to solving this case.   
  
It didn’t take long for me to get back there, and I quickly entered the kitchen. Abigail was standing around and frowned when I entered.   
  
“What do you want?” The attitude she had was evident.   
  
“Oh I’m sorry. I thought we were  **investigating** , Abigail. I have a right to be wherever I want right now.” I ignored whatever comment she made to that and examined the rack of knives. Just as I expected, one was missing, plain as day. “Just as I thought.”   
  
Abigail approached. “What? A missing knife? Oh, the murder weapon. So that’s where it came from…”   
  
**(Missing Knife added to Truth Bullets)**   
  
“Looks to be the case. Our killer grabbed one of these knives to use. But how did they get it into the castle without anyone noticing?”   
  
A sigh came from the stylist. “Obviously they snuck it in using their jacket or something. Plenty people here have places they could hide knives.”   
  
“True, but these knives are very sharp. To hide it you’d have to be very careful so you didn’t cut yourself. Preferably have experience with cutting instruments.”   
  
Abigail’s brow twitched. “You better not be suggesting I did it cause I’m a stylist, are you?”   
  
“Everyone is a suspect in this Abigail. I can’t discount anyone. If you’re worried about your innocence, do you have an alibi?”   
  
A scoff. “An alibi? Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t. Didn’t think I’d need someone watching my movements constantly.”   
  
Now it was my turn to sigh. “Then tell me what you were doing anyway. Even if no one can prove it, I wanna hear what you have to say. We have to work together here.”   
  
“Fine. I didn’t wanna end up alone with any of you so I basically hid out in that tower. There’s a space where you can go up to the top so I just laid low there for the night.”   
  
“Wait, don’t tell me you’re sleeping there?” I was shocked. Was she really going through all that extra effort?   
  
“Course not! I just wait till I’m sure everyone’s asleep then I make my way back to the hotel. It also means I don’t have to walk through anywhere that ain't out in the open.”   
  
I nodded. “I see. Thank you for telling me.”   
  
**(Abigail’s Alibi added to Truth Bullets)** **  
** **  
** At that point, it was time to leave the kitchen. I had explored all my leads and felt like I hadn’t gotten very far. The picture in my head was incomplete. And so many questions lay unanswered. “I need to collect more witness statements I think.”   
  
It seemed like with the little amount of evidence, the key to solving this crime was to establish as much as we could about everyone’s movements beforehand. Hifumi had mentioned one other individual I was interested in, and so I sought out to find them.   
  
It didn’t take long for me to find Tai hanging out on the drawbridge of the castle. He was throwing some pebbles into the water below, and watching the piranha swim about.    
  
“Hey, Tai. I need to talk to you for a bit.”   
  
He turned up and looked at me. “Oh, sup Fioren. You doing that little investigating thing?”   
  
“Well yeah. Aren’t you?”   
  
“Nah. I’m not smart like that so I figured I’d just let you guys do the work. Plus isn’t it more exciting if I don’t know what happened and gotta figure it out in the middle of the trial?”   
  
_ Okay at this point it’s official. He’s an idiot, not a threat.  _ “Right, well I need to ask you about some things.”   
  
“An interrogation? Oh sweet! Let er rip detective!”   
  
“I’m not….nevermind.” I just sighed and continued forward. “Hifumi said you headed to the castle at the same time as Hiro. Can you explain why?”   
  
“That’s easy. Hiro asked me to come with him. Come on, you can grill me a little more right? I wanna see some fire!” He pointed at me and laughed for a bit.   
  
“Hiro asked you to come? Why would he do that?”  _ Why do I have a feeling I won’t like the answer? _   
  
“Oh, cause he was worried. Cause ya know, someone called him out.”   
  
_ Yup, I was right.  _ “Seriously?! This is something you should have told someone about! Can you give more details?”   
  
“Okay okay! Well, Hiro was looking all shifty so I asked him what was going on. He said someone had slipped a note under his door that made him worried. I told him I was used to heading into danger so I’d be able to help him out.   
  
We came here together around like 9 I think. We went into the library, but I got bored so I left him there.”   
  
I had no words to describe how angry I felt at that. But I decided to hold myself back for the sake of the investigation. “Do you remember when you left him?”   
  
“Uhhh, I think it was around like...9:30 or something? Don’t know for sure. I wasn’t keeping track. Anything else detective?”   
  
“No. I think that’s all. Thank you.”  _ So, Tai was with Hiro that entire time. After Tai left, that was probably when the killer had their chance to strike. Damn it! If only Tai had stayed then maybe… _ _   
_ _   
_ **(Tai’s Account added to Truth Bullets)** **  
** **  
** He had brought up something though. It looked like there might be something to find within Hiro’s room, but if he had locked the door before he left, it’d be a problem. Still, I pressed on anyway, heading to the hotel’s second floor.   
  
Once I arrived at Hiro’s door, I turned the handle and, surprisingly the door opened. Singing praises to whatever god would hear them, I headed inside. I knew exactly where I should look for the note. Thankfully, it was in the trash can just as suspected. Though crumbled up, I managed to fold it out properly and read it. It was hand-written but I had a feeling it would take too long to try to test who had written it. Looking it over, it read as such:   
  
**I have something important to tell you. It concerns your motive. Meet me in the Library around 9:30. Come alone.** **  
** **  
** **(Mysterious Note added to Truth Bullets)** **  
** **  
** _ Well, with a letter like that, I understand why Hiro was so nervous. They mentioned Hiro’s motive...does that mean the killer knew what Hiro’s motive was? Or was he simply  _ **_lying_ ** _ to goade Hiro out alone?  _   
  
I tried in vain to look for whatever Hiro’s motive was, but couldn’t find it. I wanted to spend more time here, but I knew we were running short on time. So, I decided to talk to the next person on my list. Hopefully she had enough time to calm down by now.    
  
Making my way quickly back to the Library, I approached Emiko. At this point she did look much less paler, and was pacing around back and forth from one side of the room to the other. “Hey, Emiko. How are you doing?”   
  
She paused and turned to me. “How am I doing? I just discovered a dead body! I am doing awful. Poor Hiro…”   
  
“Yes, it’s tragic. But I need your help too if we’re going to solve this. Can you tell me anything you saw today? Anything at all, even if you feel it’s not important.”   
  
Emiko nodded and sighed. “Right, well...as you know I was in the lobby watching movies for a good chunk of the evening. I saw nothing overly suspicious. Tai and Hiro left the hotel around 9. Calvin got some dinner shortly after before leaving, Right before you came down Daisuke came in and then we left.   
  
At that point, you know exactly what happened. We found Hiro and I fainted until you came back.”   
  
I sighed. “Yeah, I figured but I wanted to double check. Still, I’m sure this info will prove useful. Thank you.”   
  
( **Emiko’s Account added to Truth Bullets)**   
  
“Of course Fioren. Despite not remembering your talent, you seem to be the one who’s kept her head the most on straight in this terrible place. I entrust our fates to you.” She smiled brightly at me despite the circumstance, and I couldn’t help but return it.   
  
“I appreciate that, but we need everyone to work together to get through this. Even with all the information I gathered, there was still one person we needed to talk to. The person I least thought I needed to interrogate now seems to be the most suspicious.   
  
However, before I could do anything, the bell chimed once more.   
  
“Attention everyone! If you’re still in the middle of things, sorry but it’s time for the Class Trial to begin! Everyone please report to the elevator of the hotel. You’ll find an extra button has been added for your convenience!”    
  
“What?! Already? But I’m not done yet!” I screamed out at the camera, but I doubted he cared. I just cursed under my breath. It seemed like all the answers I lacked would have to come out during the class trial. Looking over to Emiko, Daisuke, and Allison, they all seemed to agree with me.   
  
Steeling myself, I headed to the lobby. I had always wondered why the elevator seemed bigger than it should be, but I guess my question was finally answered. Everyone stood silently as we looked to the elevator.   
  
Hitomi overlooked us all and tried her best to smile. “It’s ok guys. It’ll work out. We’re smart. We got this!”

  
Hiroki sighed but started approaching the elevator. “We must push forward, lest we all die.”   
  
Ayane shouted back, “YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW THAT!” She looked like she was about to cry again. Calvin placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.   
  
“We have to go. There’s no other choice. We have to find out who killed Hiro,” I stated coldly.   
  
With trepidation, we walked into the elevator. Just as Monokuma said, a new button with the same jagged shape as his eye had appeared. Shakily, I pressed it after everyone was on.   
  
The doors closed, and we began descending. The descent was long, and I felt the butterflies in my stomach beginning to twist more and more. Despite our best efforts, someone had killed Hiro. Someone had decided to commit the unthinkable, and steal the life of someone who was supposed to be a friend.   
  
Eventually we arrived at the bottom. Just like the screen had shown us, podiums stood in a circle all around a dark, decrepit room. Monokuma sat on a raised seat that overlooked everything. “Good, you’re here. Well, take your places! We don’t want to keep everyone waiting, right?”   
  
All of us grimly approached our assigned podiums. The one that was supposed to be Hiro’s stood next to mine, and in his place was a piece of cardboard propped up on a pole. There was a giant picture of his face on it that was crossed out with a giant X and gray scaled to look black and white.   
  
Seeing that staring at me, I couldn’t help but also stare at everyone. The expressions on most were unreadable, yet I could tell they were doing the same. All of us had instinctively begun scanning everyone else. The bonds of trust we had begun to form had immediately been shattered. A person in this very room had killed Hiro, and we all asked ourselves the same questions.   
  
Who did it? And why? Even as the picture formed in my head, I couldn’t help but sweat. This was the ultimate test. The ultimate ground of truths and lies. Of the hope we had gained, and the despair Monokuma had forced us to feel.   
  
I narrowed my eyes, clutching my hand to my chest.  _ No. I refuse to give in. I refuse to play the game Monokuma wants me to play. I will descend into this battleground of truths and lies….and I will find out who killed Hiro. I will save everyone! This isn’t just a class trial for me, but for everyone! _   
  
  
**CHAPTER 1 DEADLY LIFE END**


	4. Magical World of Nightmares Class Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally time for the Class Trial! Will Fioren be able to solve this crime and ensure everyone lives to another day? Read in and find out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now that we are into the trial proper, the style of writing is going to shift slightly to a more transcript format, and I apologize for the shift, but I feel this will be more appealing then literally reading quote after quote over and over again with very little narration and internal dialogue. Plus, this will also give you a much clearer idea of who’s talking at what time. This will be a trend for every trial, and the writing will go back to normal for the next chapter. Please enjoy.

**Chapter 1: Magical World of Nightmares** **  
** **Class Trial** **  
** **  
** **TRIAL PREPARATIONS:** **  
** **  
** **Truth Bullets** **  
** **  
** **Monokuma File 1:** Hiro Mishima was killed in the library at 10:04 PM. His cause of death was a stab wound inflicted by a knife.  
  
 **Body’s Position:** Hiro’s body had moved from the time I left the library to the time I returned.  
  
 **Stab Wounds:** 3 wounds were inflicted on his body. 1 was on his stomach, and 2 wounds were inflicted on his back.  
  
 **Tip of Fingernail:** The tip of a fingernail was found on the ground by Hiro’s body. It appears to be painted rather than covered in blood.  
  
 **Daisuke’s Report:** Daisuke noted the stomach wound was probably inflicted first, and wasn’t immediately fatal. The additional wounds are what sealed his fate.  
  
 **Kitchen Knife:** A knife covered in the victim’s blood. It’s lightweight, but extremely sharp.  
  
 **Personalized Motives:** Everyone received their own motives, and it could be tied to why this crime was committed.  
  
 **Allison’s Account:** She was in her room all night, and the only person she noticed leaving the hotel was Calvin around 9:30 PM.  
  
 **Hifumi’s Account:** Hifumi noticed several people come and go from the castle. The timeframe is as follows:  
Abigail arrived around 6 PM  
Tai and Hiro arrived at 9 PM  
Calvin headed there shortly after 9:30 PM  
Daisuke left the Hotel shortly before 10 PM, quickly followed behind by Calvin who sprinted back to the hotel.  
  
 **Missing Knife:** One of the knives was missing from the kitchen. All other knives were perfectly clean and accounted for.  
  
 **Abigail’s Alibi:** Abigail claims she was holed up on the top of the tower all day. No one witnessed her up there.  
  
 **Tai’s Account:** Tai went with the victim because of a note they had received. He got bored after waiting for a while, and left before the appointed meeting time.  
  
 **Mysterious Note:** A note left for Hiro. It reads as follows:  
“I have something important to tell you. It concerns your motive. Meet me in the Library around 9:30 PM. Come alone.”  
  
 **Emiko’s Account:** Emiko saw Hiro and Tai leave the hotel around 9 PM. She also saw Calvin enter the kitchen before leaving himself, followed by Daisuke returning to check on Hitomi. We then proceeded together to the library where we found Hiro. She was passed out while I attempted to find help.  
  
______________________________________________________________________________  
  
 **ALL RISE!** **  
** **  
**Monokuma: Before we begin...allow me to give a brief reminder of how the class trials work. In this, you will all debate amongst yourself to determine whodunnit. If you deduce correctly….then the Blackened will be executed! But if you guess wrong, then all of you will be executed instead! And the Blackened will be allowed to leave the park to roam freely once more.  
  
Allison: Then I guess it’s time for the court to come to order.  
  
Tai: To order? What do you think this is some actual court or something?  
  
Allison: Order must be maintained, even in circumstances like this.  
  
Hiroki: I agree. We can’t just fumble about. You heard the bear. We all die if we get this wrong, so let’s not mess about, got it?  
  
Ida: Nonsense!  
  
Everyone turned to Ida surprised. What was he getting on about?  
  
Ida: This entire trial is a shame! You think one of us really killed Hiro? Preposterous! We all agreed to work together! No one would shatter that trust.  
  
Abigail: Are you as dumb as you are loud? We wouldn’t be having this stupid trial in the first place if one of us didn’t do it!  
  
 _Well...this is off to a rousing start. But I already know why this crime happened. Ida, it’s time for you to understand what really happened!_ _  
_ _  
_______________________________________________________________________________  
  
 **NON-STOP DEBATE** **  
** **  
** **(A/N: So because this is novelized, I have to set up the weak points slightly differently. Words in the debate that Fioren is able to refute are bolded and ones she can agree with are** ** _Italicized_** **. See if you can guess the solution before she does!)** **  
** **  
**Ida: This is an outrage! An entire farce!  
  
Allison: Calm down Ida, we need to discuss this rationally.  
  
Ida: Calm down? That bear is trying to insinuate that one of our friends committed this heinous crime!  
  
Yumi: But that’s cause someone DID do it, right?  
  
Ida: Of course they didn’t! There is absolutely **no reason** to commit the crime!  
  
Abigail: So you really are just an idiot then!  
  
Ayane: Guys...let’s stop fighting....  
  
 _I understand why you feel this way, Ida. However...I can’t let anyone get in the way of solving this crime. For everyone’s sake I have to fight as hard as I can!_  
  
Fioren: There’s a fault in your logic! ( **Personalized Motives on “no reason”)**  
  
______________________________________________________________________________  
  
Ida: Huh? What do you mean Fioren? What am I wrong about?  
  
Fioren: Everyone *did* have a motive to commit this crime Ida. Remember? Monokuma gave us all motives a few days ago. Everyone had one waiting for them in their rooms.  
  
Ida: …..  
  
Brad: Oh, that thing? I just threw it out as soon as I saw it. I mean, I didn’t even wanna look at it, ya know?  
  
Fioren: That doesn’t mean everyone *else* did though. I know at least in my case, I looked over it before I threw it out. There’s a good chance our killer was too curious as well.  
  
Ayane: So somebody really did kill Hiro? But why? What was their motive?!  
  
Yoshi: Guess we gotta talk about this case, huh?  
  
Hifumi: The flakes of blood cloud the window of the soul, but it is the duty of the living to shatter the prison of the dead, so that the soul can shine free once more.  
  
Yumi: Can you seriously ever talk normally?  
  
Allison: We need to discuss this case from the very beginning so that we can have an informed decision. First things first, let’s establish the facts. The where, when, and how of the crime.  
  
Emiko: Yes, I agree whole-heartedly! Let us figure out who killed our dear friend pronto!  
  
 _The where, when, and how. Yes, that’s a good starting point. Once we’ve established that, we can narrow everything down…_  
  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
 **NON-STOP DEBATE** **  
** **  
**Allison: I think we can safely say he was killed in the library, but what of the murder weapon?  
  
Tai: Murder weapon?  
  
Daisuke: Well that’s obviously the **knife** , right?  
  
Brad: But where did the knife come from anyway?  
  
Calvin: Well maybe the killer _snuck it in_?  
  
Ayane: Wait, they snuck it in under our noses!?  
  
Abigail: You idiots! The knife obviously _came from the kitchen_.  
  
 _We need to agree on how the killer acquired the knife before we can proceed. Thankfully I have just what I need for that._  
  
Fioren: I completely agree! **(Missing Knife on “came from the kitchen”)** **  
**  
______________________________________________________________________________  
  
Fioren: Abigail is completely right. The murder weapon came from the kitchen.  
  
Hitomi: What makes you so certain?  
  
Fioren: Because I investigated the kitchen. If you look closely at the rack of knives, you’ll notice one is missing.   
_  
_I showed them a picture I had taken of the rack of knives to prove my point.  
  
Fioren: Furthermore, if you look at the knife itself. You’ll clearly notice that weird design Monokuma has on all of them.  
  
Monokuma: Hey! Don’t call it weird. It’s a brand, and we need to represent it!  
  
Hitomi: Right, ignoring that. So it did come from the kitchen?  
  
Abigail: Yeah, the killer clearly grabbed the knife from the kitchen so that they could stab Hiro.  
  
Brad: I mean I get that, but who grabbed the knife then? If we can figure that out, then we got the killer right?  
  
Fioren: I wish it were that simple.  
  
Ida: The fact is….any of us could have grabbed that knife….  
  
Abigail: Oh good, you finally realized that Monokuma isn’t joshing us around. Someone here killed that poor painter, and now we have to solve it otherwise we’re all dead!  
  
Allison: **Order in the court!**  
  
Tai: Wow! It’s like we’re really in a courtroom!  
  
Abigail: Jeez, ok. We’re not in an actual court, ya know? No need to shout.  
  
Allison: Actually there is. Since our “host” seems incapable of keeping everyone in line, it falls to me to make sure this trial proceeds smoothly. That is my duty as the Ultimate Defense Attorney!  
  
Hitomi: *giggle* Well, at least she’s spirited now compared to the investigation.  
  
Yumi: OK then Ms Attorney. What do we do now then? We know he got killed in the library, and the murder weapon came from the kitchen. That gets us no closer to figuring out who killed him.  
  
Allison: I was getting to that. Now that we have a concrete clue on where the murder weapon came from, and where the crime was committed-  
  
Tai: **Are you so sure about that?!**  
  
Suddenly Tai cut off Allison with an outburst and began to chuckle.  
  
Tai: After all, we shouldn’t jump to conclusions right?  
  
Fioren: Tai, what the heck are you talking about?  
  
Ayane: Yeah! We already figured out that-  
  
Tai: Hang on, I'm getting to that part! Listen up kids, cause I’m only gonna say this once.  
______________________________________________________________________________  
 **REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN** **  
** **  
**Tai: Don’t you guys remember the small bits of blood in the courtyard of the castle? How do you explain that if you’re so convinced that the crime took place within the library?  
  
Fioren: And what does that have to do with this case? It could be unrelated.  
  
Tai: For all we know, the killer attacked Hiro on the bridge and then forced him to the library for cover! From there he coulda just cleaned up the blood and stuff to make us think it happened in the library.   
  
I mean, if I was the killer, I’d want to throw you guys off as much as I could. How can we deny that possibility when **no one** saw him tonight?  
  
Fioren: Your words ring hollow! **(Tai’s Account on “no one”)** **  
** **________________________________________________________________________**  
  
Fioren: Tai, what exactly are you trying to accomplish here?  
  
Tai: Hm? Whatever do you mean Fioren?  
  
Fioren: You’re lying. You were with Hiro. You even told me yourself.  
  
Ida: What?! Why the hell would you lie about that?  
  
Ayane: Yeah, come on! This is supposed to be serious!  
  
Tai: *chuckle* I know, I know. I just couldn’t help myself. I mean, you can’t have a trial without a little argument and debate, right?  
  
Brad: Dude, bro. Not cool…  
  
Daisuke: You think this is some sort of game, Tai?!  
  
Tai: Well, duh. Of course I do. Monokuma said it himself, right? This is a Killing Game. I bet you anything Hiro is still alive, and the murderer worked together with Monokuma to set it all up!  
  
Fioren: ….  
  
Tai: Honestly, you guys really think someone would kidnap us and force us to murder each other? Well, in any case...yeah I was with Hiro. Go ahead and tell em, Fioren.  
  
Fioren: Why me? Tell them yourself!  
  
Tai: But I didn’t investigate, so I don’t know what’s going on, Ms Detective. You were doing such a good job, why don’t you keep it up?  
  
Fioren: *glare*….He was with Hiro for quite some time last night.  
  
Hitomi: And of course, he didn’t feel the need to bring this up.  
  
Fioren: He had even volunteered to go with Hiro to the library.  
  
Yoshi: Huh? Why the hell would he do that?  
  
Ayane: Yeah, I’d rather throw up in a toilet then go somewhere with Tai…  
  
Fioren: It’s because Hiro was nervous, and needed some extra reassurance.  
  
Yumi: Nervous? What would Hiro have to be nervous about?  
  
Fioren: _Well, that’s obvious. He was nervous about…_  
  
 **Question: Why was Hiro so nervous that night?** **  
**  
> **Kitchen Knife** **  
** **> Tai’s Account** **  
** **> Mysterious Note**  
  
Fioren: That’s it! **(Mysterious Note)**  
  
Fioren: This note he received earlier that evening. In it, the killer calls him out specifically to the library around 9:30. Considering Tai’s testimony, we can safely assume that he meant 9:30 that very night.  
  
Brad: Oh, well if the killer called the guy out, there’s no doubt he was killed in the library right?  
  
Allison: Then where did the blood in the courtyard of the castle come from?  
  
Yoshi: Maybe someone cut themselves beforehand?  
  
Hiroki: The blood would have long dried since if it were that simple.  
  
Fioren: _Where did the blood come from? I think I have an idea. Based on everything, it has to have come from when…._  
  
> _The Killer fled_ _  
_ _> Hiro was stabbed_ _  
_ _> Someone cut themselves_ _  
_ _> The knife was dropped_  
  
  
Fioren: That’s it! ( **The Killer fled)**   
  
Fioren: The blood was indeed Hiro’s, however it wasn’t from being attacked. It dropped off the killer when they fled the scene.  
  
Hitomi: Wait, it came from the killer?!  
  
Hiroki: It makes sense. If you stabbed someone that close range, blood would splatter onto you as well. It wasn’t an alarming amount of blood on the ground, so it only stands to reason that the killer didn’t clean themselves off completely as they fled.  
  
Fioren: I agree. It definitely looked like the killer was in a rush. The doors to the library and castle were both open, implying the killer didn’t stick around for long after their crime.  
  
Emiko: A quick crime and a quick escape? This killer must have had some dastardly plan then.  
  
Fioren: I don’t think so.  
  
Hifumi: Hm? The killer was not a mastermind of evil?  
  
Fioren: This crime is messy. While there's not a lot of evidence, it seems more like the work of a “in the moment” crime rather than a carefully planned out one.  
  
Calvin: Huh? What makes you say that?  
  
Allison: I agree. I think this won’t be a difficult crime to solve once we establish a timeline of events. The killer called out Hiro to the library at 9:30, so if we establish who was in the library at that time, the list of suspects should make itself very clear.  
  
Yumi: Well, I can help with that a little bit already. I was in my room.  
  
Tai: Oh really? And why should we believe that?  
  
Ayane: *sneer* Why should we believe you is more like it….  
  
Ida: Let’s settle down. Allison is right. Let’s figure out who was in the castle, and make our way from there!  
_______________________________________________________________________  
 **NON-STOP DEBATE**  
  
Ida: We need to discuss who all was in the castle tonight. That should clear things up! Let’s get a show of hands!  
  
Yumi: As if the killer would just out themselves like that.  
  
Hifumi: The shadows of deceit must be brightened if we are to find the perpetrator.  
  
Calvin: Maybe the killer snuck in through a _secret passage_?  
  
Brad: Oh yeah! Old castles always have secret passages and stuff.  
  
Abigail: I highly doubt that’s the case…  
  
Allison: We need witnesses. That’s the key to this case.  
  
Hiroki: Witnesses? I highly doubt that. **No one was watching who entered the castle** , after all.  
  
Yoshi: Wait, if no one was watching how are we supposed to figure this out!?  
  
Emiko: Fear not! If we wrap our heads around things, everything will work out!  
  
 _Yeah, we already have the evidence we need. Right now, it’s just a matter of getting there…._  
  
Fioren: There’s a fault in your logic! ( **Hifumi’s Account on “No one was watching who entered the castle”)**

___________________________________________________________________________   
  
Fioren: There *was* someone watching though. Someone who is the most crucial witness to this entire case. Hifumi.   
  
Hifumi: The bell tolls on our darkest hour to signal the bright sunrise.   
  
Yoshi: That girl saw everything? Great, I already can barely understand what she's saying.   
  
Hitomi: You say she’s the most crucial witness?   
  
Fioren: Yes. Hifumi was in the ballroom the entire night. That room looks over a large portion of the area leading to and from the castle, which means Hifumi knows exactly who was in the castle at what times.   
  
Ida: That’s great! Hifumi, you must tell us everything.   
  
Hifumi: …..Okay. I saw Abigail, Tai, Hiro, and Calvin enter the castle at all separate times, in that order.   
  
Tai: Wow! That is impressive. So then it’s obvious who did it, right?   
  
Fioren: I’m not sure I follow Tai.   
  
Tai: Well, who was the one that entered the castle first? Abigail of course!   
  
Abigail: Now wait just a second! Are you seriously saying that I committed the crime?   
  
Daisuke: Well Fioren did say the knives were sharp, and you are the most skilled with cutting instruments.   
  
Brad: Yeah, a stylist would totally know how to use a knife without cutting themselves.   
  
Abigail: Oh, now you’re using my talent against me, great. Well I didn’t do it!   
  
Allison: I don’t wish to believe that either Abigail, but you have been very adamant about not working together with us. That does make you suspicious.   
  
Abigail: I’ve been like that cause I don’t trust any of you. Can you blame me? This is a death game, any one of you could be just waiting for the right time to strike!   
  
Yumi: Wow, that’s cold.   
  
Yoshi: Well if you didn’t do it, you gotta have an alibi, right?   
  
Abigail: ……   
  
Ida: Abigail? Please defend yourself from these accusations.   
  
Abigail: *sigh* Fine. But you won’t like it…   
_________________________________________________________________________   
**NON-STOP DEBATE**   
  
Allison: Please, Abigail. State your defense.   
  
Abigail: Fine fine! Ugh, I don’t have a good alibi or whatever. I was  **alone** the entire time.   
  
Daisuke: Alone? Why would you be alone in a place like this?   
  
Abigail: Why the hell do you think? It’s cause I didn’t want any of you guys murdering me in the middle of the night!   
  
Tai: Wow! Talk about distrust. *chuckle*   
  
Yoshi: So, where were you then?   
  
Abigail: I was up on top of that big tower. I knew no one would bother me there.   
  
Ida: You really distrust us that much?!   
  
Abigail: Look, I’m not gonna sit here and listen to you guys claim I’m some murderer! Yeah, I was alone and  **no one saw me** , but I didn’t do it!   
  
Emiko: So, we should believe in you when you won’t believe in us? Is that it?   
  
Abigail: …….   
  
_ If this continues as it is, they’ll think Abigail did it. I don’t believe there’s enough evidence to support that, but it’s just an assumption. I don’t have anything to back it up. Which means….if I want this discussion to keep going I have to  _ **_lie_ ** _ … _ _   
_ _   
_ Fioren: For everyone’s sake… ( **Abigail’s Alibi (lie) on “no one saw me”** )   
___________________________________________________________________________   
  
Fioren: You’re wrong Abigail.   
  
Abigail: Huh? Wrong about what?   
  
Fioren: Someone *did* see you.   
  
Allison: Really? Then, who was it?   
  
Yoshi: Yeah, she just said no one saw her right? So who coulda possibly-   
  
Fioren: ...it was me.   
  
Everyone: Huh?!   
  
Fioren: While Emiko and I were heading to the castle, I saw you up in the tower. There’s a small window, and if you stand by it, someone can see you from down below. That’s how it happened.   
  
Abigail: *gasp* …..   
  
Fioren: *internally*  _ Abigail, please let me help you. I know you didn’t do this... _   
  
Hiroki: So, you saw her in the tower. That still doesn’t completely exonerate her of the crime, you know.    
  
Fioren: True, but if Abigail really is as skilled as we think, how would she  **miss** her first shot?   
  
Hitomi: Hm? Miss her first shot? What do you mean?   
  
Fioren: There’s been one thing that’s been bothering me since this case began. Something we’ve neglected to note so far.    
  
Allison: Then by all means, Fioren. What’s been bothering you?   
  
**Question: What’s been off about this case?** **  
** **  
** **> The location of the wound** **  
** **> The location of the body** **  
** **> The location of the castle** **  
** **  
** Fioren: That’s it!  **(Location of the body)** **  
** **  
** Fioren: Hiro’s body. When Emiko and I first discovered him, he was lying closer to the front door of the library. However, when I returned...his body was in a different area, slightly further in.   
  
Calvin: Huh?! The body moved?   
  
Hitomi: But that makes no sense, not unless…   
  
Fioren:  **Hiro was still alive.**   
  
Everyone: *gasp*   
  
Hiroki: How do you know that for certain? For all you know, the killer returned while you were looking for us, and moved the body to try to throw things off.   
  
Fioren: I don’t think that was the case. Because there’s one thing we’ve neglected to look at. Hiro’s time of death.   
  
Hifumi: The time of death? What’s so important about that?   
  
Fioren: Hiro’s time of death was listed as 10:04 PM. However, when we discovered the body it was 10 PM. That means Hiro wasn’t dead when we found him.   
  
Allison: But how do you know that? There isn’t a single clock in the library. There’d be no way to know the exact time…   
  
Emiko: Yes, even I didn’t know the exact time, and I was with you.   
  
Fioren: It’s very obvious how I knew. Because…   
  
_ >There was a clock _ _   
_ _ >I have a watch _ _   
_ _ >Hiro told me _ _   
_ _ >The Night Time Announcement _ _   
_ _   
_ Fioren: I got it!  **(The Night Time Announcement)** **  
** **  
** Fioren: Emiko and I heard the announcement for Night Time as we entered the library. I remember it well.   
  
Hiroki: The Night Time announcement?   
  
Daisuke: Ah, I see. It plays strictly at 10 PM according to the rules. Monokuma would never break that, especially in the beginning of this little game.   
  
Monokuma: That’s right! Rules are important for society. If we broke the rules, then anarchy would rule supreme and the world would be doomed!   
  
Fioren: So, I ask you. If Abigail *did* kill Hiro, I imagine she’d be a lot better at stabbing him, and would be able to kill him immediately.   
  
Hiroki: Maybe she wanted him to suffer before he perished. We can’t rule out that possibility.   
  
Abigail: Oh screw you asshole! I didn’t stab him, all right?!   
  
Allison: Hmmm, Fioren. Are you sure Abigail didn’t commit the crime?   
  
Fioren: I’m positive. Our killer was not skilled. This entire thing was a haphazard execution from the start. If she left Hiro alive, he could have gotten medical attention, which would have immediately outed her as a possible murderer for future attacks.   
  
Abigail: ……   
  
Brad: Yeah, I agree! This totally doesn’t seem like something she’d do. Even if she has been a little mean to us.   
  
Ayane: So, if Abigail didn’t do it, then who did?   
  
Yoshi: Crap...are we already back at the drawing board?   
  
Tai: Of course not! We just eliminated one suspect, and who do we have left? Me and Calvin! One of us obviously committed the crime.   
  
Ida: You seem awfully calm for someone who just admitted he was suspicious! How do we know you didn’t volunteer to help Hiro so you could stab him later?   
  
Tai: What?! Why would I go and do that?   
  
Ayane: Because you just admitted you thought this was all a game!   
  
Tai: Well, yeah. This is a game! And if I wanna win, why would I just randomly kill someone at the start? I’d want you all to dismiss me as some non-threat before I unleashed my evil plan to kill someone later!   
  
Calvin: Bro, are you like...actively admitting you want to murder someone?   
  
Fioren: …..   
  
Calvin: I think at this point it’s pretty clear Tai is the suspicious one.   
  
Allison: I agree. Tai seems like the most likely culprit. He has been rather flippant during this case, and actively lied about his involvement with Hiro.   
  
Tai: What? Now hold on a second. I didn’t kill him! Honest, I was just kidding about the evil plan part, I swear!   
  
Hifumi: He who speaks of evil has the darkest intentions at heart.   
  
Ayane: I think we should just vote for him now!    
  
Ida: I agree, let’s get this farce over with now.. Monokuma we’re ready to-   
  
Fioren:  **Hold it right there!**   
  
Everyone: …   
  
Fioren: We still have more we can discuss. I don’t think we should jump to conclusions so rashly. Allison. I’m sure you can agree we should eliminate ALL possible suspects before we vote.   
  
Allison: Yes….you have a point. We need to discuss Calvin too.   
  
Calvin: Huh? Me? Why would we need to do that? Tai practically just admitted he would kill someone!   
  
Abigail: I mean...nobody’s innocent until we prove it, right?   
  
Ida: Calvin is right. We already know Tai did it, so we can just cast our votes now.   
  
Tai: Hold up! I already told you guys. I didn’t do this. If I did, I woulda totally done it way better!   
  
Ayane: How does saying that make you any less suspicious!?   
  
Daisuke: I know it doesn’t look good, but I think there are some points still left to bring up.   
  
Hifumi: The blinding light of salvation is within reach. We must cast aside our earthly worries and seize it with our power.   
  
Fioren: Hold on! We can’t just jump to rash conclusions. We can’t be split like this when-   
  
Monokuma: Did someone say  **split** ? Boy, then do I have just the thing for you! I prepared a very special little feature of our courtroom for moments like this. Introducing the state of the art transformation trial grounds!   
  
Suddenly, all of our podiums began to rise and begin spinning around the room until we were divided into two groups. One consisted of myself, Alison, Abigail, Daisuke and Tai. The other? Well, that had everyone else standing against us…   
  
Yoshi: Whoa!? What the hell is this?   
  
Tai: Hahaha, wow! We’re really flying!   
  
Allison: Monokuma, what is the meaning of this? What did you do?   
  
Monokuma: Why, I’ll tell you. At times like this when you’re all divided, I figured this would make debating a little easier. After all, you shouldn’t come to a vote unless you’re all in agreement, right?   
  
Fioren: So then….we’re really against each other?   
  
Staring everyone down in that moment, I knew. I had to convince them. if I didn’t then we’d make the wrong decision and all die. I don’t know what made me believe in Tai so much in that moment, but I didn’t get as far as I had by giving up easily.  _ If this is the challenge Monokuma has presented, then I’ll accept it! I’ll save everyone from themselves! _   
_______________________________________________________________________   
**SCRUM DEBATE** **  
** **  
** **IS TAI THE CULPRIT?** **  
** **Yes: Calvin, Hifumi, Brad, Yumi, Yoshi, Ayane, Hitomi, Hiroki, Emiko, Ida** **  
** **No: Fioren, Allison, Tai, Abigail, Daisuke** **  
** **  
** Calvin: Tai already admitted he was going to  **kill** someone, right?   
Tai: If I was going to  **kill** someone, it wouldn’t be the first murder.   
  
Ayane: He thinks this is all a game! He’s a big  **jerk** , and that’s why he killed Hiro!   
Allison: Someone being a  **jerk** isn’t a basis to convict them.   
  
Yumi: But he and Hiro went  **together** to the library, right? He had plenty of time to kill him.   
Fioren: They weren’t  **together** for long. He had no opportunity to commit the crime!   
  
Ida: Clearly he just  **waited** for the right opportunity to strike! He waited till you left to get help to finish the deed!   
Tai: I  **waited** huh? And tell me how I would have remained hidden for so long?   
  
Brad: Well the castle has  **secret passages** and stuff, right? So he just used one of those.   
Abigail: I think we would have found at least one of these  **secret passages** by now.   
  
Hitomi: What  **reason** is there to discuss more if the killer is standing right in front of us?   
Fioren: The  **reason** is so we don’t all die if we’re wrong!   
  
Hiroki: Based on the current  **information** , it’s plainly obvious that Tai did it.   
Allison: We still have more  **information** to go on. We can’t be rash.   
  
Hifumi: Why should we believe the **lies** of one who is full of sin?

Tai: Because these **lies** are the truth! I didn't do it!   
  
Yoshi: I mean, is Calvin really a  **suspect** though? He’s been pretty chill with us.   
Fioren: In a trial like this, everyone is a  **suspect** until proven otherwise!   
  
Emiko: Why are we still defending him anyway!  **Tai** has been nothing but trouble from the start!   
Daisuke: Trouble or not, we can’t condemn  **Tai** until we discuss things thoroughly.   
  
Fioren, Abigail, Daisuke, and Tai:  **This is our answer!**   
_______________________________________________________________________   
  
Fioren: As you can see, we cannot reach a decision without looking at ALL the facts.   
  
Yumi: I suppose you do have a point….   
  
Yoshi: Yeah. That bear said he’ll kill us if we get it wrong. So I guess maybe we should talk about Calvin.   
  
Calvin: ……   
  
Ida: Fine. We can discuss Calvin. However, as soon as we’ve cleared him of suspicion, it is time to cast our votes.   
  
Fioren: *internally*  _ I got everyone to agree, but the trial is far from over. I need to keep fighting. I need to find the truth of this case! _ _   
_ ____________________________________________________________________________   
**INTERMISSION: MONOKUMA THEATER** **  
** **  
** Monokuma: Ya know, I’ve already wondered. What’s the point of effort? I mean, effort is when you put in the work to get something done and become better, right? But if that’s the case, then effort is totally lame.   
  
I mean, after all, if effort is what you have to do to be better, then what does that say about people with natural talent? They don’t have to put in any effort at all. If you ask me, those are jerks that make the rest of us look bad! They really should just stop trying so that the rest of us can catch up, right?   
  
After all, it’s only fair for everyone to be equal in our society. Or….is it?   
___________________________________________________________________________   
  
Fioren: Now then, it’s time to discuss Calvin’s activities this evening.    
  
Ida: I still feel uneasy about this, but fine. I’ll go along with this for now.   
  
Calvin: We really gotta do this?   
  
Tai: Yup, so get talking murderer.   
  
Ayane: That comment isn’t necessary...   
  
___________________________________________________________________________   
**NON-STOP DEBATE**   
  
Calvin: Look guys, I’m being serious. I didn’t do anything….   
  
Allison: It’s imperative to eliminate all suspects before we decide.   
  
Ayane: Well it’s obvious  _ Tai did it _ !   
  
Tai: You’re just saying that cause you don’t like me!   
  
Calvin: Besides, I didn’t even leave my room till  **after 9:30** . So I couldn’t have even attacked Hiro.   
  
Ida: See? Nothing further to discuss.   
  
Daisuke: Is it really that simple?   
  
  
_ I don’t want to be right, but I need to know. I need to know why you… _   
  
Fioren: There’s a fault in your logic! ( **Allison’s Account on “after 9:30”** )   
______________________________________________________________________   
  
Fioren: Calvin...why are you lying?   
  
Calvin: Huh?!   
  
Fioren: You said you left after 9:30. But Allison saw you leave your room before that time.   
  
Allison: *gasp* You’re right, I did.   
  
Calvin: Huh? Oh well that’s…   
  
Fioren: If you’re not suspicious, you’d have no reason to lie about your movements. So why did you lie?   
  
Calvin: Look, ok, I just forgot the time. Jeez! Why are you coming down on me like this Fioren? Tai did it! Don’t you trust me? I trusted you, didn’t I?   
  
Fioren: *internally*….. _ That’s why this hurts so much Calvin. But I have to find the truth...no matter how much it hurts… _ _   
_ _   
_ Hifumi: The shadow of doubt will wither away at our judgements. _   
_ _   
_ Hitomi: I think we can be a little less hard on Calvin. I mean, I barely keep track of the time myself, so I can understand failing to keep track of when you left.   
  
Fioren: There’s still more we can discuss. Calvin, what did you do after leaving?   
  
Brad: Do we really need to discuss that though? We got the perp, right?   
  
Ida: Fioren! Why do you keep insisting that Calvin is suspicious? He’s been one of the ones encouraging us to work together. You two investigated together, didn’t you?   
  
Fioren: We split up after the start. I did an investigation on my own. I know there’s more to this case than meets the eye!   
  
Allison: Calvin, please discuss your moments after leaving your room.   
  
Yumi: But is Calvin really that suspicious Allison? You gotta admit Tai is still looking bad.   
  
Allison: As a Defense Attorney, it is my solemn duty to believe in my client’s innocence until the very end. So, I will not vote for Tai until Calvin exonerates himself from suspicion!   
  
Calvin: …..   
  
Fioren: Calvin...please. Tell me why you couldn’t have done it. Tell me why you couldn’t have killed Hiro.   
  
Calvin: You want me to explain it to you? Fine, I’ll explain it over and over again until you get it Fioren! It’s up to me as your partner to correct you when you’re mistaken…   
_________________________________________________________________   
  
**NON-STOP DEBATE**   
  
Calvin: It’s up to me to stop you before you make a mistake, Fioren! I didn’t kill Hiro.   
  
Emiko: How do we know that for certain? I do admit you seem a little suspicious.   
  
Ayane:  **Tai did it!** Tai did it. TAI DID IT!   
  
Tai: You can keep saying that, but it doesn’t make it true.   
  
Allison: Let’s just focus on the case please...   
  
Calvin: Look, we established the knife came from the kitchen, right? Well that immediately shows I didn’t do it, cause I  **didn’t head to the kitchen** at all! When I left my room, I went straight out to clear my head with a walk.   
  
Brad: See? Just a little misunderstanding.    
  
Yumi: So were we right about Tai all along then?   
  
_ I wish it were that simple. I need to find out why. Why are you still lying… _   
  
Fioren: There’s a fault in your logic! ( **Emiko’s Account on “didn’t head to the kitchen”** )   
_______________________________________________________________________   
  
Fioren: You’re still lying...Calvin.   
  
Calvin: Huh?   
  
Fioren: Emiko saw you enter the kitchen before you left the hotel. Why did you leave that part out?   
  
Emiko: Oh yes, I distinctly remember you being in the kitchen for quite a bit before you left the hotel.   
  
Calvin: Oh well uh...you see that’s…   
  
Abigail: You little brat! You’re the one that grabbed the knife, aren’t you!?   
  
Calvin: Huh? No! No! I didn’t grab the knife. I was just trying to get some food. That’s all. Sure, I used a knife, but I just threw it into the sink when I was done!   
  
Yumi: It would take him a bit to make food, so he wouldn’t have been in the castle when the murder happened.   
  
Calvin: Yeah, exactly! See? I didn’t do it.   
  
Fioren: You’re still lying, Calvin.   
  
Calvin: Fioren...why are you distrusting me so much? Look, sorry I didn’t say what I was doing, but if I said I went to the kitchen you guys would find me suspicious. You gotta believe me!   
  
Fioren: Except there’s a piece of evidence that contradicts your testimony.   
  
Ida: What the hell do you mean?! Lay off the poor boy, and let’s move on.   
  
Allison: Fioren, present your evidence please. What contradicts Calvin’s testimony?   
  
**PRESENT EVIDENCE** **  
** **  
** **Question: What evidence proves Calvin is lying?**   
  
Fioren: That must be it! ( **Missing Knives** )   
  
Fioren: Calvin, you didn’t throw a knife in the sink. There was only one knife missing from the rack. The murder weapon.   
  
Calvin:...   
  
Fioren: I don’t see any reason you’d feel the need to clean up, and even if you did there would have been signs of the sink being used. But there wasn’t. So, where did your knife go then if it wasn’t in the sink?   
  
Calvin: Maybe I threw it into another sink then?   
  
Hitomi: Except there’s only one sink. So...which sink would you be referring to then?   
  
Calvin: Oh, umm well that’s…   
  
Yoshi: I gotta admit man...you’re starting to look real sketchy.   
  
Tai: See? I told you guys I didn’t do it. Calvin here clearly stole a knife from the kitchen and stabbed Hiro! It’s so obvious let’s just get this over with.    
  
Ida:  **I will not allow this to continue!**   
  
Fioren: Ida?   
  
Ida: I agreed to discuss the remaining suspects, but this is going too far! At this point we’re practically yelling at the poor boy.   
  
Daisuke: Well, I get that, but he’s been lying right? We need to figure out why that is.   
  
Ida: Everyone! Please listen!. I cannot hold myself back any longer.   
  
Fioren: *Internally*  _ Well...I guess it can’t be helped. Prepare yourself Ida, cause I won’t hold back either! _   
_______________________________________________________________   
  
**REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN**   
  
Ida: I can’t allow you to continue shaming Calvin like this! So what if he lied a little? He saw a dead body, of course he’s a little confused.   
  
Fioren: I understand that Ida, but we need to focus on the facts, and the evidence doesn’t lie.   
  
Ida: Evidence?! What evidence could you possibly have to show Calvin’s guilt?!   
  
Fioren: By the same coin, what proof do we have of Tai’s guilt?   
  
Ida: I’m more willing to believe in Calvin than Tai! And besides, so what if Calvin didn’t prepare food and went out a little later than he thought. You have  **no proof** Calvin was acting suspicious in the castle!   
  
_ Except I do Ida. I need to get through to you so we can crack this case wide open! _ _   
_ _   
_ Fioren: Your words ring hollow! ( **Hifumi’s Account on “no proof”** )   
__________________________________________________________________________   
  
Fioren: Hifumi saw Calvin practically sprinting away from the castle on his way out.   
  
Ida: What?!   
  
Hifumi: The shackles of guilt are not heavy, but quite sturdy.   
  
Calvin: ….   
  
Fioren: Why would you feel the need to sprint away from the castle unless something happened? Calvin, I need you to be honest with me…   
  
Yoshi: I mean, you said he might have seen the killer right? Maybe he was lying cause they threatened to kill him too?   
  
Hitomi: That does make sense. He could have been threatened into silence.   
  
Fioren: But now that we’re here, I imagine Monokuma wouldn’t want that to happen, right?   
  
Monokuma: Of course not! If someone tried to kill someone at the class trial, that would be completely uncalled for!   
  
Ida: Well we know who it would have been...right? Calvin, did Tai threaten you?   
  
Tai: Jeez, you’re still on about that?   
  
Fioren: Calvin, please. You trusted me. I want to trust you too. Show me I can still trust you.   
  
Calvin: ….. ….. …. Okay. I’ll tell you everything.   
  
Ayane: Good, finally we can wrap this up. So, how did he threaten-   
  
Calvin: I did it. I killed Hiro.   
  
Everyone: WHAT?!   
  
Calvin: I….I’m so sorry guys. *sob* I just….I just had to. I have to get out of here. I can’t leave my little sis alone…   
  
Fioren: ….   
  
Tai: Wow, and you guys wanted to try to kill me. Shame on you! Now that we know who the real killer is we can-   
  
Fioren: Enough! *death glare*   
  
Tai: ……   
  
Fioren: Calvin. Tell us what happened. Tell us why this crime happened, and how. Please, ok?   
  
Calvin: *nod* Okay. I’ll tell you. It all started when Monokuma gave us those damn  **motives** . His one for me was stating that my parents had died in a car crash, and that my sister was currently alone and scared.   
  
Ida: *gasp* That’s…   
  
Calvin: I don’t have any special talents. I got to come to Hope’s Peak by chance. My little sister on the other hand is amazing. She’s got an entire future ahead of her, and thinking of her sitting in that house all alone with no one to support her….I just had to! I had to do something!   
  
So, I decided to kill Hiro. I slipped him that note to draw him out. I grabbed the knife around the time and headed off. I had to be real careful to make sure I didn’t cut myself. I headed into the library….and I….stabbed him in the stomach. He didn’t even see it coming. Watching him collapse against the ground I….I panicked! I realized what I had done and I was disgusted. I dropped the knife and ran as fast I could out of there, and tried to wash my clothes in the moat while everyone was still asleep.   
  
Fioren: …..   
  
Calvin: I have nothing I can say to defend myself. I did it, so please. Just vote me and get this over with….I deserve the punishment…   
  
Allison: Calvin...I….   
  
Yoshi: No way dude….   
  
Ayane: I don’t wanna vote for Calvin….   
  
Tai: Well, sucks doesn’t it? Like I said, I didn’t do it, and now that he confessed there’s nothing more to discuss. So let’s vote for Calvin and get this over with!   
  
Hiroki: Yes, I suppose it’s done. No one else could have done this, so let’s wrap things-   
  
Fioren:  **There’s a fault in your logic!**   
  
Calvin: Fioren?!   
  
Fioren: Thank you, Calvin. Thanks to you...we can finally discover what really happened here. I’m glad you trusted me.   
  
Calvin: What? What do you mean thanks to me? I just confessed to the crime. We already know what happened. I killed Hiro.   
  
Fioren: Monokuma, will you allow me a question?   
  
Monokuma: Hmm? You know I’m not supposed to interfere in the trial, right?   
  
Fioren: In order for this trial to be fair and honest, it’s required for us to know something. When it comes to the blackened. If there were two people involved, who is the one considered the blackened? Are they both, or only one?   
  
Ida: Wait, Fioren are you…   
  
Monokuma: Oh, well that’s an easy one! The person who delivered the final blow would be considered the blackened. No accomplices in this killing game!   
  
Fioren: Then, we can safely conclude Calvin is NOT the Blackened.   
  
Allison: How so? He just...confessed to the crime. Are you saying he is lying?   
  
Fioren: No, quite the opposite. That was the full honest truth. I have a pretty good idea when people are lying, and he wasn’t. Which begs the question...why did he only mention  **one wound** ?   
  
Daisuke: Ah, that’s what you mean. The victim was covered in three distinct wounds. One on the stomach, and two on the back.   
  
Calvin: WHAT?!   
  
Tai: Clearly he just lied about that, too. What, you’re gonna trust him now when he just said he tried to murder Hiro?   
  
Hitomi: Fioren, please explain your logic. I wish to understand where you’re coming from.   
  
Fioren: …  _ Let’s think this through. This is the most crucial part of the entire case. If we figure out what happened here...then we’re set. _   
_____________________________________________________________________   
**LOGIC DIVE** **  
** **  
** **Question 1: How many wounds were inflicted on Hiro?** **  
** **  
** **Answer: 3** **  
** **  
** **Question 2: When did Calvin stab Hiro?** **  
** **  
** **Answer: Before we arrived.** **  
** **  
** **Question 3: When did Hiro die?** **  
** **  
** **Answer: After we arrived.**   
  
Fioren: That’s it!   
__________________________________________________________________   
  
Fioren: It makes no sense with the timeline we established. How would Calvin have inflicted 3 wounds on Hiro if he died AFTER we arrived?   
  
Emiko: Huh? Well obviously he’s just lying, right?   
  
Yumi: Yes, I fail to see how the timing of when Hiro died as the crux of your theory.   
  
Fioren: But it is. And we already have the evidence to prove it.   
  
Calvin: Wait...you do? Then you gotta tell me! Please, tell me how I didn’t kill Hiro!   
  
Fioren: Because….   
  
**PRESENT EVIDENCE** **  
** **  
** Fioren: That must be it! ( **Daisuke’s Report** )   
  
Fioren: Daisuke, based on your knowledge as a professional. How long do you think it would have taken Hiro to bleed out from his wounds?   
  
Daisuke: Well, taking into account where he was stabbed...the stomach wound would have taken 30 minutes to an hour to bleed out. The back wounds would have cut that time down to about 5 minutes, if not shorter.   
  
Fioren: We already proved Hiro was still alive when we found him. So, I ask you all. When would Calvin have had time to inflict the additional wounds? He would have bled out before we got there, yet according to the Monokuma File, he was alive for about 4 more minutes.   
  
Allison: You’re right...so that means…   
  
Fioren: Calvin was the one to stab him in the stomach. I agree with that. But...he wasn’t the one to finish off Hiro! Someone else finished the job, and that’s the Blackened we’re looking for!   
  
Calvin: So you’re really saying that….I’m not the Blackened?   
  
Abigail: But, if that’s true. What fucked up person would finish off a dying man?!   
  
Ida: Maybe...maybe they didn’t know about that rule! So maybe they thought he was too far gone and…   
  
Yoshi: Are you saying they finished him off? Dude, that’s messed up!   
  
Yumi: If you were trying to mercifully finish someone off, you’d just stab em in the heart. And furthermore, why hide it all the way up until now? They should have told us while we were investigating that they found Hiro alive. They could have asked him who attacked him.   
  
Yoshi: Boxer chick’s got a point.   
  
Yumi: ….   
  
Allison: I agree. The circumstances seem strenuous at best, so we need to go back to the beginning and-   
  
Emiko:  **This will not do at all!**   
  
Yoshi: Oh what now?!   
  
Emiko: This cannot do at all. We are about to make the wrong decision, and I cannot allow that to happen.   
  
Fioren: Wrong decision? All we’re doing is trying to discuss-   
  
Emiko: Discuss? There is absolutely nothing left to discuss!   
_______________________________________________________________________   
**REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN**   
  
Emiko: I am sorry Fioren, but as your friend I have to put a stop to this! You are still defending Calvin, even after he admitted to the crime!   
  
Fioren: I already said he had tried to kill Hiro, but someone else finished him off!   
  
Emiko: I cannot agree with that! Calvin is lying, clearly. We already proved he’s the only one who could have commited the crime. There’s  **no evidence** to the contrary!   
  
_ I don’t want to believe it either, but it’s the truth. Calvin didn’t do this! And I know exactly who did… _   
  
Fioren: Your words ring hollow! ( **Tip of Fingernail on “no evidence”** )   
________________________________________________________________________   
  
Fioren: Except there IS evidence. Something I’ve been waiting to show until I knew for sure how it fit into all of this.   
  
Emiko: Huh? Evidence? W-what evidence?!   
  
Fioren: Look at this fingernail I found at the scene. It was almost impossible for me to detect. But I found it next to the body, with flakes of it also on Hiro’s hand. He struggled against his attacker, and broke their nail. Now, tell me. Does Calvin look like the person to get a manicure on his nails?   
  
Calvin: No comment…   
  
Hitomi: Oh yeah, he definitely isn’t the type. So, what? Does that mean one of us girls did it?   
  
Hifumi: The shattering of the truth is like a glass being pushed off the table.   
  
Ayane: B-but who could have done it then? Everyone already has alibis!   
  
Allison: Yes, Fioren, if you will. You speak as if you already know who committed the crime. So, enlighten us...who did it?   
  
Fioren: Very well. I’ll do just that then…   
  
**MAKE YOUR ACCUSATION** **  
** **  
** **Who does the nail belong to?**   
  
Fioren: It could only have been you!   
  
Fioren: I’ll admit, I didn’t know for sure until Calvin explained everything. But once he did, I knew. I knew it had to be you….Emiko Maizono, the Ultimate Actress.   
  
Emiko: W-what?! How dare you! How dare you try to pin this on me over what, a fingernail!?   
  
Yoshi: Y-yo, Emiko. Calm down…   
  
Emiko: No, I will not calm down! You’re really going to believe that worthless piece of trash over me!?   
  
Fioren: Worthless…?   
  
Emiko: Of course! He’s just the  **Ultimate Lucky Student** . He’s NOTHING compared to me. Or the rest of us for that matter. Everything he is, it’s just...what? Luck!? That’s not even a talent! The only people that deserve to be in Hope’s Peak are the elite! True  **Ultimates** .   
  
Everyone: ….   
  
Calvin: You really...think that about me?   
  
Emiko: Of course I do you brain dead dolt! The only reason I was so nice to you was because I had to be. But now when you’ve confessed to a crime, no sir. I will not stand for being accused of something like this when trash like you still roams free! Enough of this, let’s vote this murderer out of here and be done with it!   
  
Fioren: …..So, that’s the real you.   
  
Emiko: Huh? What do you mean?   
  
Fioren: You just made a very fatal mistake. Because if there’s one thing I hate more than anything else in this world…..*death glare* It’s people like you…   
  
Yoshi: H-holy shit...Fioren. Umm, maybe we should…   
  
Emiko: Really now? Well, what do you have on me Fioren? Hmm? Oh that’s right. NOTHING. Regardless of how much you think you know, you know NOTHING. If you’re SO amazing, then prove it! Prove I killed Hiro!   
  
Fioren: I will. Prepare yourself, because this is the end for you!   
_________________________________________________________________________   
**FINAL DEDUCTION** **  
** **  
** **Question: How did Emiko fool everyone?** **  
** **  
** **Answer:** **  
** **> She pretended to faint** **  
** **> She threatened Calvin** **  
** **> She lied about her evening**

**  
** Fioren: I’ve got you right where I need you! ( **She pretended to faint** )   
___________________________________________________________________   
  
Fioren: Your talent is your own undoing.   
  
Emiko: Huh?   
  
Fioren: When we entered the library you fainted. Correct?   
  
Emiko: Well yes, of course. I told you I can’t stand the sight of blood.   
  
Fioren: And yet...when I returned...you were right by where Hiro’s body was. Which we already discussed….had moved.   
  
Emiko: …..   
  
Hitomi: Hey, yeah. We did say he had some fight in him, so he would have still been squirming around.   
  
Ida: Emiko...is this...true? Did you…   
  
Emiko: …….   
  
Fioren: So that’s it then? Fine...then for everyone’s sake...allow me to go over this case one last time, and prove once and for all how Hiro Misihima was killed!   
___________________________________________________________________________   
**CLOSING ARGUMENT**   
  
Fioren: This crime began with the motives Monokuma had given to us a few days ago. Most of us dismissed them or simply threw them away without much thought. That wasn’t the case for Calvin however.   
  
He had seen that his sister needed his help, and being the loving older brother he was, he became desperate. He quickly hatched a haphazard plan to try to kill someone before anything happened to her. Since he had little time, he decided to simply leave Hiro a note calling him out.   
  
He probably figured that Hiro was the easiest target. In any case, Hiro discovered the note and panicked. I have no idea what his motive was, but he felt so strongly he decided to throw caution to the wind and meet the person, but he didn’t plan to go alone.   
  
Tai had volunteered to go with him, but unfortunately he got bored and left our victim all alone. He was probably freaking out until he saw Calvin enter the library. Calvin put on a friendly face, but once Hiro let down his guard……*SHINK* He stabbed him in the stomach with a knife from the kitchen.   
  
Once the realization of what he did set in, Calvin panicked. This caused him to fumble the knife and sprint out of the castle, realizing there was no way he’d get away with it. While he washed his clothes in the river, unbeknownst to him...something else had happened.   
  
I had difficulty sleeping that night, and decided to go out for a walk. Someone was in the lobby watching some movies, so I decided to ask them to tag along. Little did I realize I had just invited the Blackened along with me.   
  
When we arrived, we saw the aftermath of Calvin’s crime. I panicked while the Blackened pretended to faint by me. Rushing out of the library, I attempted to track down Daisuke for medical help.   
  
However, Hiro was still alive. He began trying to talk to the person with him, trying to explain what happened. However, whatever he said was lost on them. That person decided to finish the job, probably hoping they would be able to take credit for someone else’s kill.   
  
Fortunately, Hiro still had some fight left in him. He fought back, but ultimately failed to protect his back from being stabbed again. *SHINK SHINK* Because the killer had been in front of him when they stabbed him, it prevented the blood from splashing back at them.   
  
It’s funny. If Calvin hadn’t messed up his crime, Hiro probably would have been too weak to fight back. But, because of that lucky break. Because of Hiro’s willpower and drive to survive, he managed to knock off one of the fingernails of our Blackened, which seals the case on this crime.   
  
The only one who could have committed this crime...is YOU! Emiko Maizono, the Ultimate Actress!   
  
**BREAK!**   
_________________________________________________________________________   
  
Fioren: If you want to disprove me Emiko….just show us your nails. I’m sure once we see you don’t have a broken nail, we’ll know you didn’t do it...right?   
  
Emiko: …. ... . …. …. …Fine! I did it, and you wanna know why?!   
  
Everyone: !   
  
Emiko: Every single one of you is worthless! Don’t you get it? I’m the star! I’m the one who is important. I’m the one who deserves to get out of here! And you think that someone like HIM deserves to stay? This is an outrage!   
  
Fioren: So you’d really sacrifice everyone to get out of here? Tell me….what did Hiro say to you when you noticed he was still alive, Emiko? WHAT DID HE SAY?!   
  
Emiko: ….Fine, you want to know? I’ll tell you. He explained what happened. He told me Calvin had tired to murder him and asked me to find Daisuke for help.   
  
Everyone: WHAT?!   
  
Emiko: So now you understand. Even if I did as asked, even if we voted him guilty, that would just mean more time in this stupid park listening to all you imbecils when i’m the one that deserves to leave. YOU ALL DESERVE TO DIE SO I CAN LIVE!   
  
Ida: I think….I think it’s time to vote.   
  
Allison: I agree. Monokuma, we wish to cast our votes now.   
  
Monokuma: Alrighty then! It’s time to cast your votes, and make sure you vote, I don’t want any absentees!   
  
Emiko: Worthless. Worthless. Worthless. **Worthless!** **  
** **______________________________________________________________________________** **  
** **VOTING TIME!** **  
** **  
** **Who killed Hiro Mishima? Cast your votes now!** **  
** **  
** **Emiko Maizono: 14 votes** **  
** **Calvin Rosemary: 1 vote** **  
** **  
** **Emiko Maizono has been found guilty!**   
_________________________________________________________________________   
**TRIAL COMPLETE!** **  
** **  
** As the voting finished, Monokuma let out a bellowing laugh. “Pwhahahahahaha! You are absolutely correct! The Blackened for this case is none other than Emiko Maizono, the Ultimate Actress!”   
  
All of us sat there stunned. Even after I had drawn out her true self, the fact that Emiko really had committed the crime had finally set it. I couldn’t believe it. She really looked at a dying man and decided….to finish him.   
  
“How...could you?” The words hung off my breath even as she stood there, shaking silently in fury.   
  
“How could I? You just don’t get it do you? If anyone deserves to get out of this place it’s me. Everyone else is nothing compared to me, and I wasn’t about to let some low class  **talentless** piece of trash take that away from me.”   
  
All of us just stood there in silence. What could we even say? This girl really thought she was so much better than us that she was willing to kill someone just so she could get out. I had to know though. There was one question eating away in my mind that I had to know.   
  
“Emiko. Did you do this because of your motive? What was it anyway?”   
  
She stared blankly at all of us, like we just said one of the most moronic things she had ever heard. “My motive….yes, of course. Monokuma informed me that due to my lack of appearances lately, my title of Ultimate was passed to my rival actress Maki Hoshiyama. I can’t let someone else claim my title you see, and when Hiro told me that Calvin had tried to kill him? Well, I knew I had to act then, otherwise I’d have to stay longer in this stupid game surrounded by all you idiots!”   
  
“...........” I stood there in silence for a few more moments. That final line told me all I needed to know. “Monokuma. Execute her. I don’t have time for worthless trash like her…”   
  
Allison gasped at my words. “Fioren! Where did that come from? She may have killed someone but that doesn’t mean she deserves to die.”   
  
Ida nodded. “I agree! We can work something out here, I’m sure! Emiko, we can discuss this and come to an understanding!”   
  
Yumi scoffed under her breath. “Are you nuts? This chick is crazy.”   
  
Tai chuckled with his hands behind his head. “Yeah, and she played the game and lost. So now it’s execution time, yeah?”   
  
Ayane looked like she was sobbing. “No wait, we can…”   
  
Whatever would have been said next didn’t happen. Monokuma started cackling once more. “Puhuhuhuhu! Well then, it’s time for the moment everyone’s been waiting for! Let’s give it everything we got! It’s Punishment time!”   
  
Emiko tried fruitlessly to run, but a clawed hand came from the darkness to grab her, dragging her off from all our sights. We all gasped at this, but before we could ask what happened a small monitor appeared from the ceiling to give us a very clear visage.   
  
Emiko was tied to a wooden pole, and was sweating profusely trying to fight against the bindings. We could see she was in a grassy field, and there were various fireworks strapped around her as well as on the pole itself. Suddenly without warning, Monokuma appeared from the corner of the screen, carrying a match and a piece of string which we quickly realized led to the strapped fireworks.   
  
A title card suddenly appeared which read “Birth of a Star”. Once it was gone, we saw him light the match, causing the fuse to quickly begin disappearing. We were helpless watching Emiko struggle against her bindings more and more until eventually the fireworks began lighting off, the explosions and shrapnel getting into various parts of her skin as she screamed in agony.   
  
Eventually, the log itself was revealed to be a giant firework that then shot into the sky. A camera had been strapped to the firework, allowing us to see Emiko’s face slowly drain from color as she was launched higher and higher into the sky, almost leaving the entirety of the planet’s atmosphere. But just as she was about to reach space, the firework suddenly exploded into a star shape pattern, leaving various bits of debris and body parts to sprinkle down over the area.   
  
Monokuma gave one final salute as the star, which somehow almost showed Emiko’s face in the center disappeared. We were all speechless as the monitor returned to where it came from. Our captor simply snickered to himself before bursting into laughter once more.   
  
“And so there you have it! Thus ends the life of the famous actress, Emiko Maizono. Too bad she could never  **truly** reach stardom, eh?”   
  
Calvin cursed under his breath and stared angrily at Monokuma. “YOU BASTARD! That shoulda been me, not her! I was the one who planned the murder, so I should…” He was almost breaking down into tears by the end of that sentence.   
  
Yoshi walked forward and placed a hand on his back. “Hey man, don’t sweat it right now. That chick was crazy. Best not think too much about it.   
  
Abigail scoffed a bit under her breath. But anyone could tell her composure was almost shattered. “That doesn’t suddenly give him a pass, ya know? He still tried to murder someone…”   
  
Brad sighed a bit and looked at everyone, trying his best to look strong. “Hey, let’s just all take a chill pill. We’re tired. It’s been a long night. Let’s just….leave it at that for now, ok?”   
  
Ayane nodded, tears fully on display. “Y-yeah...I wanna go now. I don’t wanna be here any longer..”   
  
I had already begun walking to the elevator. If anyone said anything, I didn’t hear. I just kept thinking back to Emiko’s words. Her actions. If they felt sympathy for her, that was fine. However, Hiroki was also right. She HAD a choice, and she decided to value herself above another, and I couldn’t accept that. I wouldn’t accept that, even if it meant making everyone hate my coldness.  _ This world would be better off without people like her in it…. _ _   
_ _   
_ I don’t really know how long it took me to arrive in my room, but as soon as I entered, I felt weariness start to claim me. The night had dragged on due to that class trial, and I’m sure none of us wanted    
  
**CHAPTER 1 END** **  
** **14 STUDENTS REMAIN**   
  



End file.
